The Ottawa Senators are playing host to the Los Angeles Kings tonight at the Canadian Tire Centre in an early-season Battle of the Basement. Here is what you need to know ahead of tonight’s game.
The Ottawa Senators have struggled throughout much of the early goings of the season, particularly when it comes to winning games and scoring goals on the powerplay. The not winning games part really comes as no surprise to anyone who has followed the Senators heading into this season. On the other hand, the not scoring on the powerplay is a little more surprising to many fans.
Coming off a win at Madison Square Garden on Monday, the Senators fell 4-1 in Brooklyn against the white-hot New York Islanders. Head Coach DJ Smith is making changes to his lineup heading into tonight’s game. Both Bobby Ryan and Cody Goloubef will be coming out of the lineup, which makes room for Erik Brannstrom to return and for Jonathan Davidsson to make his NHL debut.
Erik Brannstrom is considered by many around the Senators organization to be one of the team’s top prospects. With this being his first full season at the National Hockey League level, the young Swedish defenseman has struggled at times. Coach Smith had said he wanted to take the young defender out for one game to have him watch from the pressbox and hopefully see a few things differently.
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Bobby Ryan, on the other hand, has skated himself directly into the coach’s doghouse with his slow skating and apparent lack of production. The coach has talked about Ryan needing to move his feet a lot more and to help the team produce offensively. I think the problem with that is I don’t know if Ryan has the skating ability to actually skate the way the coach wants him to.
Anyone who watches the Senators would probably agree with the idea that the game has probably passed Bobby Ryan by. It has become apparent that the 32-year-old right-winger no longer has the skating ability to keep up with much of the play. It appears as though the team has come to the realization that Ryan can no longer help them on the ice and could be moving towards a separation between the two.
Ryan coming out of the game allows for Jonathan Davidsson to make his NHL debut tonight. The young Swedish winger was acquired by the Senators at the trade deadline last season as part of the Matt Duchene trade.
A lot of people around the Senators organization believed that Davidsson had the potential to make the team during this year’s training camp. This was mainly because Davidsson was one of the final cuts at the Blue Jackets’ camp last season. Ultimately, the young forward was sent to Belleville where he suited up in eight games so far this season tallying three points.
Senators Betting Odds & Lines
Courtesy of The Action Network, the Kings are -130 on the Moneyline heading into tonight’s game. This is more than likely based on the fact that there are very few people that ever expect the Senators to win.
With that being said, the Kings are only one point ahead of the Senators in the standings, and they have played one game more than the Senators so far. Nonetheless, the Kings are the favourites to win tonight’s game.
Weather Forecast
According to The Weather Channel, you might want to dress warmly if you’re going to the game, with the temperature expected to be around -3°C with 12 km/h winds around puck drop.
Kings Projected Lineup
According to LA Kings Insider Jon Rosen, this is the projected lineup for the Kings:
"Tyler Toffoli – Anze Kopitar – Jeff CarterIlya Kolvachuk – Blake Lizotte – Austin WagnerAlex Iafallo – Adrian Kempe – Dustin BrownKyle Clifford – Michael Amadio – Tyler LewisAlex Martinez – Drew DoughtyBen Hutton – Sean WalkerKurtis MacDermid – Matt RoyJack CampbellJonathan Quick"
Senators Projected Lineup
According to Hailey Salvian, this is the lineup DJ Smith will be going with tonight:
"Brady Tkachuk – Chris Tierney – Anthony DuclairNick Paul – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Connor BrownVladislav Namestnikov – Artem Anisimov – Tyler EnnisFilip Chlapik – JC Beaudin – Jonathan DavidssonThomas Chabot – Nikita ZaitsevErik Brannstrom – Ron HainseyMark Borowiecki – Dylan DemeloStarting in goal: Anders NilssonCraig AndersonScratches: Bobby Ryan, Mikkel Boedker, Cody Goloubef"
How to Watch
Tonight’s action can be found on TSN5 in the Ottawa region. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:30 PM.
You can also stream tonight’s game on ESPN+. ESPN+ has a free 7-day trial that includes live streaming for this game on all your smart devices! Besides NHL games like this one featuring the Capitals vs. Canucks, ESPN+ features a selection of live games from MLB, MLS, Serie A, FA Cup, and EFL.
If you’re looking for last-minute tickets, Stubhub currently has tickets for the game starting at just over 10$ US.