Game 12 Hub: Ottawa Senators @ Boston Bruins

The Ottawa Senators are continuing their up-and-down stretch of games, coming off an impressive 5-2 victory on Sunday (!) against the San Jose Sharks. The Boston Bruins then proceeded to say “Hold our chowder”, and mercilessly slaughtered the Sharks by a 5-1 score, all while holding them to a measly 17 shots on goal.

It’s no secret that the Bruins are one of the most dangerous teams in the East, with a 9-1-2 record, .951 goaltending from Tuuka Rask, and the best line in the NHL; featuring Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak; combining for twenty-four goals and thirty-three assists in twelve games. Against this juggernaut, a win by any team let alone the Ottawa Senators is a feat worthy of praise.

All games in the NHL are winnable, and this one is no different. However, it’s a tall, tall order. They can match or surpass the effort level of the Bruins; D.J. Smith has shown he can get the most out of his team; but even if they can find way to hold serve against the Bruins’ top line, they still need to find a way to solve the brick wall that is Rask. Let’s hope that our incredibly volatile goaltending and some of our middle-six forwards have a big game today, en route to our first road win of the season!

Here are the projected lines for your Ottawa Senators:

Game Notes

• Chlapik and Beaudin are back up with the big club after being sent down to Belleville for a few days. Both will draw back into the lineup, meaning Bobby Ryan will be a healthy scratch for the second straight game. Something tells me it’s not going to get easier for him once Artem Anisimov, Colin White, and Rudolfs Balcers become healthy.
• When most players in the league look at the Bruins’ top line, they see their own impending doom. You want to know what Jean-Gabriel Pageau sees when he looks at that line? He sees a worthy challenge. He, Nick Paul and Connor Brown have formed what has recently been the team’s best line, and the line that I’d be most comfortable sending out against Marchand and co., but that’s up to the Bruins tonight, as they have second change.
• Logan Brown didn’t look out of place in his first two games with the big club, and he took it one step further against the Sharks on Sunday. Despite being held off of the scoresheet, he was very noticeable playing with Brady Tkachuk and Anthony Duclair. At one point in the game, he took advantage of a giveaway, using his reach to poke the puck around Marc-Edouard Vlasic before making a nifty between-the-legs pass to Duclair. A few more games like that one and he’ll quash any concerns about his future as an NHL player.
• Thomas Chabot was questionable for tonight’s game due to a neck issue but thankfully,  Smith confirmed yesterday that he’s good to go today.
• The game will start at around 7:00 PM EST, and can be watched on Sportsnet 360 and TVAS2, 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