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With their break now behind them, the Senators kick off a busy stretch of five games in eight days leading into the All-Star Break at the end of next week. First (and fourth) up on the list are the St. Louis Blues.
A few names return to action tonight. Bobby Ryan is back with new gloves after missing the Toronto game, and Mark Borowiecki is back in the lineup after an extended absence. Filip Chlapik is in for Jean-Gabriel Pageau after an injury sustained in the Leafs game. Here are the expected lines to start the game:
Dzingel - Brassard - Stone
Pyatt - Thompson - Smith
Dumont - Chlapik - Burrows
Oduya - Karlsson
Phaneuf - Ceci
Borowiecki - Chabot
Anderson (starter)
Condon
- Good to have Borowiecki back in the lineup (yes, really, me from two years ago)
- Less thrilled about him starting with Chabot, since that means Oduya is with Karlsson
- Craig Anderson had a pretty good game in Toronto last week, so maybe pencil him in for a few weak ones tonight
- We’re only a short, 10-game winning streak from the Sens being back into serious playoff contention!
- Mark Stone. That is all.
Team stats, via NHL.com and NaturalStatTrick.com:
Team Stats
| Category | Ottawa | Senators | Boston | Bruins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Ottawa | Senators | Boston | Bruins |
| -- | Value | Rank | Value | Rank |
| Goals/GP | 2.68 | 25th | 3.25 | 6th |
| Goals against/GP | 3.44 | 30th | 2.56 | 3rd |
| Shots/GP | 30.7 | 24th | 32.8 | 11th |
| Shots against/GP | 33.0 | 25th | 29.3 | 2nd |
| Powerplay % | 16.7 | 26th | 23.5 | 4th |
| Penalty Kill % | 76.2 | 27th | 83.3 | 4th |
| Corsi (5v5, Score & Venue Adjusted) | 46.32 | 29th | 53.97 | 2nd |
| Fenwick (5v5, SVA) | 46.94 | 27th | 54.01 | 1st |
Player Stats
| Ottawa | Senators | Boston | Bruins | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa | Senators | Boston | Bruins | |
| -- | Player | # | Player | # |
| Goals | Matt Duchene | 27 | Brad Marchand | 34 |
| Assists | Erik Karlsson (out) | 53 | Brad Marchand | 51 |
| Points | Karlsson/Stone (both out) | 62 | Brad Marchand | 85 |
| Shots | Mike Hoffman | 253 | David Pastrnak | 236 |
| TOI/GP | Erik Karlsson (out) | 26:44 | Zdeno Chara | 22:53 |