Game 23 Preview: Ottawa Senators @ Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa once again tries to break the losing streak
We’ve had a few days to recover ourselves, and I think it’s fair to say, we’re not recovered. The Senators are still on an awful losing streak that’s now stretched to six games. They will try to avoid making it seven tonight against the Canadiens, because nothing would quite put an exclamation point on this losing streak like the Habs extending it to seven. Tonight is actually the first of seven road games in a row, so this would be a good time to stop the bleeding. With the dreaded* California road trip next week, the Sens’ season could be looking pretty bleak pretty quick here. Of course, they could just win tonight in dominant fashion and all would be forgotten.
*unless you’re Andrew Hammond
Mike Condon starts in goal tonight, with no other changes expected. Here are my projected lines, keeping in mind that they will last for all of one shift (total, not per line):
Smith - Brassard - Ryan
Hoffman - Duchene - Stone
Dzingel - Pageau - Pyatt
Burrows - Thompson - Dumont
Oduya - Karlsson
Phaneuf - Ceci
Harpur - Claesson
Condon (starter)
Anderson
Some thoughts:
- Did you know Gabriel Dumont is playing is third game as a Senator tonight? I know I haven’t noticed so I thought I’d let you all know
- I’m not too disappointed Thomas Chabot is sitting tonight. It’s a long road trip, and Boucher will want rested bodies throughout. If he plays in fewer than three games on this trip though, then I’ll be upset
- Mark Stone has points in three straight, but hasn’t scored a goal since the Coyotes game. Still, 23 points in 22 games is nothing to complain about. The bigger concern for me is he had only one shot in both the Islanders and the Capitals games
- I’m interested to see if Boucher gives Matt Duchene more time with the most skilled wingers. They looked pretty good for the last five minutes of Saturday’s game
- Erik Karlsson is now only point-per-game after going six games without a point. Last season, his longest scoring drought was four games without a point right around New Year’s. This is the longest drought since an eight-game stretch of no points in January 2010 — his rookie season.
- I really don’t like the Habs. Let’s just win tonight, OK? /
Here are some stats for both teams. As always, stats via NHL.com except for Corsi/Fenwick from NaturalStatTrick.com:
Team Stats
| Category | Ottawa | Senators | Canadiens de | Montréal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -- | Value | Rank | Value | Rank |
| Goals/GP | 3.00 | 12th | 2.36 | 30th |
| Goals against/GP | 3.18 | 25th | 3.20 | 26th |
| Shots/GP | 30.8 | 20th | 35.3 | 3rd |
| Shots against/GP | 29.4 | 2nd | 31.4 | 12th |
| Corsi (5v5, Score & Venue Adjusted) | 47.71 | 23rd | 51.34 | 11th |
| Fenwick (5v5, SVA) | 49.89 | 17th | 51.61 | 9th |
Player Stats
| Category | Ottawa | Senators | Canadiens de | Montréal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -- | Player | # | Player | # |
| Goals | Mark Stone | 13 | Brendan Gallagher | 10 |
| Assists | Erik Karlsson | 16 | Jonathan Drouin | 12 |
| Points | Mark Stone | 23 | Jonathan Drouin | 16 |
| Shots | Mike Hoffman | 81 | Max Pacioretty | 107 |
| TOI/GP | Erik Karlsson | 25:18 | Shea Weber | 26:07 |
