Game 81 Preview: Ottawa Senators @ Pittsburgh Penguins

The 2017-18 Ottawa Senators season comes to a close this weekend, as they conclude with back-to-back games starting tonight. The first one is against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have had their playoff spot locked down for a while.

The Sens will be without their two best players in Erik Karlsson and Mark Stone for the final two games, although Bobby Ryan will return to the lineup after leaving mid-way through Wednesday’s game against Buffalo.

Craig Anderson will play tonight, with the plan to give Danny Taylor the start tomorrow.

Here are the practice lines from yesterday:

Game Notes

• Derick Brassard won’t be facing his former team tonight, as he’s out with a lower body injury. Since the February trade, he has eight points in fourteen games for the Penguins, while becoming a staple next to Phil Kessel.
• On the topic of the trade, Ottawa still has Pittsburgh’s first round pick for this season’s draft. Even though a win tonight would hurt their odds of finishing second last (they can still pass Arizona and Montreal), it would instead hurt the Pens’ odds of facing a weaker opponent in round one. Their most likely opponent is the Columbus Blue Jackets, although they can still finish as low as the first wild card with Columbus and New Jersey only a point behind.
• Ottawa’s odds of winning the first overall pick remain at a steady 13%.
• It has been revealed that Thomas Chabot has accepted his offer to play for Team Canada at the World Championships. Ryan O’Reilly and Mathew Barzal are the other confirmed members thus far.
• An update was also provided yesterday on Marian Gaborik, as he received successful surgery in Los Angeles to repair a herniated disk. The timeline for recovery is approximately eight weeks, which should take him until the beginning of June. The buyout window closes on June 30th, which is relevant because injured players can’t have their contracts bought out. Gaborik looks to be a potential candidate for Ottawa.
• Lastly, deepest condolences to Tina and the entire Pitre family, as the sad news broke this morning that Jonathan has passed away. He was an inspiration to many and a fearless fighter; the Sens have lost a teammate today.

Here are some head-to-head stats from NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick: