Game #68 Preview & Open Thread: Ottawa Senators vs New York Islanders

Despite coming off of a 7-3 thrashing from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, D.J. Smith’s ragtag group of Ottawa Senators have continued their valiant effort to distract us from the ongoing clown show at the top of the organization. They’ve gone 2-2-1 in their last five games despite losing several key contributors over the last few weeks; the most notable being Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who makes his return to the CTC tonight as the Senators host the New York Islanders.

Although Pageau began his journey with the Isles on a high note, scoring in each of his first two games, the team has gone 2-6-2 in their last 10 games, notably due to their goaltending regressing from absurdly high numbers early in the season. It’s all the better for us if the Islanders keep this up, as their 1st rounder in the upcoming draft is Senators’ property.

Per the head coach, Artem Anisimov (upper-body) will miss tonight’s game, and Anthony Duclair will be a game-time decision; if he’s not ready then a forward will be recalled. Here are the projected lines for your Ottawa Senators based on today’s morning skate (via TSN 1200):

Game Notes:

• Pageau’s tribute video is hopefully the last one of a beloved player we’ll have to see for a long time. It’s hard to believe he scored that beautiful playoff hat-trick against the Habs almost seven years ago.
• Jayce Hawryluk has become our new Brian Gibbons, contributing 4 points in 7 games with the Senators thus far. He’s making a case to be brought back next season in a depth role as his work on the forecheck has been useful down the stretch.
• With a goal and two assists in his last two games, could this be the beginning of Colin White’s season-saving stretch? I'm going to go with ”No”. I’m happy to be proven wrong, though!
• Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM EST, and you can catch the action on TSN5, RDS2 or TSN 1200.

Stats: