Senators return to Ottawa for one game to host Blues
For the past three games, the Ottawa Senators were playing on the road on the West Coast. On their three-game road trip, the Senators went 1-2-0 and have now fallen to 4-4-0 on the season.
After a long flight home from the Mile High City, the Senators need to rebound after Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, and it's back to work again on home ice for one game against the St. Louis Blues.
Senators return home for one game to clash against Blues
The Senators host the Blues at Canadian Tire Centre with puck drop scheduled at 7 p.m. ET. Last season against the Blues, the Senators were swept in the season series and outscored 9-4.
One Senator that was hot for the entire road trip was Claude Giroux. In each of the three games, Giroux scored and recorded two points in a game in two of the three games. On Sunday in Colorado, Giroux scored two goals in the third period and is tied for the most goals on the team along with Drake Batherson with five goals.
Goaltending has been a major issue over the past two games. Linus Ullmark allowed in five goals on Friday against the Vegas Golden Knights and Anton Forsberg allowed in four goals on Sunday against the Avalanche. If the Senators are going to get out of a two-game slump, the goaltending simply needs to be better.
With losing the past two games, the Senators fell into last place in the Atlantic Division. The Atlantic Division race is getting tighter with every game played by the other seven teams, and tonight offers as another challenge to get back in the division race.
As for the Blues, they enter tonight's game with a 5-4-0 record. Tonight is the Blues' third game in six days as they're in the middle of a four-game East Coast road trip. The Blues dropped their last game 5-2 on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens. Jordan Kyrou leads the Blues in assists with seven and points with nine. Jake Neighbours leads the Blues with four goals.
Yesterday, the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs all won and are the top three teams in the Atlantic Division. Every team in the Atlantic Division has at least four wins. The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens are both home tonight and both teams have nine points in the standings while the Senators have eight.