Game 33 Hub: Senators vs Blue Jackets

The Ottawa Senators are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, a game that saw Habs fans break the all-time record for the most saltiness after a victory. Today they look to get back in the win column at home against a team that’s only one point above them in the standings, the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Lines will be updated after the skate today but here’s what we have to work with from practice yesterday:

Game Notes

• Today is the Ottawa Senators’ 2nd Indigenous Culture Celebration Game! For those of you that haven’t seen it yet, you can check out Brandon’s piece highlighting an interview with Kevin Eshkawkogan, President and CEO of Indigenous Tourism Ontario.
• The injury bug has bitten once again, and the casualty this time is Dylan DeMelo, out for 3-4 weeks after taking a puck to the hand against Montreal. He’s definitely the kind of player that you notice more when he's out of the lineup, and the Sens’ defence is going to have to dig deep today to overcome the loss of his calming presence.
• In other injury-related news, Christian Wolanin took part in a skills session in a non-contact jersey. There’s no indication as to whether he’s ahead of or behind schedule but it’s encouraging to see him on the ice for the first time after suffering a torn labrum during training camp. I’d expect him to be sent to Belleville for a conditioning stint when he becomes healthy.
• Another Senator currently making progress towards a return is Scott Sabourin. The career minor-leaguer transcended into folk-hero territory after he scored his first NHL goal in his first game, against the Toronto Maple Leafs (the fact that he had more goals than Auston Matthews for even a few minutes is absolutely hilarious). He suffered a nasty concussion on Nov. 2nd in a game against the Boston Bruins. He’s practicing with the team in a regular jersey, and the indication is he’ll regain his spot on the fourth line when he’s at one-hundred percent.
• Anthony Duclair, who apparently didn’t know how to play hockey only months ago, has more points than anybody on the Blue Jackets. I suppose we owe thanks to John Tortorella for motivating him. Speaking of, Tortorella will move up to 15th in coaching wins if the Jackets win tonight. I’m not his biggest fan, but he’s definitely entertaining and knows how to motivate his bench:/

John Tortorella returned to the NHL as the new CBJ coach today in 2015, so let's pay homage and watch the greatest pregame speech of all time.

(Watch at your own risk. We’re not responsible for any walls you run thru today.) pic.twitter.com/wIq2AOLf4w

— HOMAGE (@HOMAGE) October 21, 2019

• Puck drop is scheduled for 1:00 PM EST and can be viewed on TVAS or Sportsnet, or listened to live on TSN 1200./

Stats:

• All stats are from NHL.com except for Corsi/Fenwick from NaturalStatTrick.com./

Player Stats

Team Stats