After a disappointing 4-1 road loss against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night, the Ottawa Senators are looking to bounce back. It's important for the Senators and their fans to not overraect after a tough road loss in the second game of the season.
However, the Senators are comfortable with returning home for the next three games. The Senators won their season opener at home on this past Thursday night against the Florida Panthers, and now will face a 2024 playoff team from the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Kings.
Senators host Kings on Monday matinee
The Senators host the Kings at Canadian Tire Centre with puck drop scheduled at 1 p.m. ET. Today is the first matinee game of the 2024-25 season for the Senators.
Being at home for three consecutive games before a three-game West Coast road trip is crucial for the Senators to make an early establishment as a top team in the Atlantic Division. With a 1-1-0 record, today offers a chance to gain momentum early into the season.
One thing the Senators desperately need to get hot is the offense scoring goals. Tim Stutzle has scored three of the Senators' four goals on the season. Stutzle scored the only goal in the loss to the Canadiens on Saturday, and is now in second place for most career goals in Senators history before turning 23 years old. However, the defense and Linus Ullmark struggled with allowing two goals in the first period and third period. The Senators can't dig themselves in a hole again that is too deep to get out of.
As for the Kings, they enter today's game with a 1-0-1 record. Today is the Kings' third game of a seven-game road trip to start the season. The Kings fell in their last game on Saturday in overtime against the Boston Bruins. With today being the Kings' third game in five days, the Senators may have caught the Kings at the right time. Anze Kopitar leads the Kings with three goals on the season.
The Senators will need to have a spark for today as the Kings swept the season series last season. The Kings have won six of the last seven meetings against the Senators.