Game 4 Preview: Philadelphia Flyers @ Ottawa Senators
It’s the return of Travis Konecny to Ottawa!
There have been two consistent features so far of this young Senators season: the team has scored at least three goals in each game, and has allowed at least three goals in each game. It definitely can make for fun hockey games, the kind that aggravate coaches but make fans excited. We’ll see if that continues tonight against a Flyers team that lost 8-2 to the Sharks last night, and has seen at least seven goals in each game this season.
The Sens’ lineup will likely be unchanged in tonight’s game, other than Craig Anderson getting the start. The only problem is that Ryan Dzingel didn’t skate this morning with a continuing nagging injury. He’s left most morning skates this season early, but hasn’t missed a game yet. Here are the projected lines:
Boedker - Smith - Stone
Formenton - Tierney - Ryan
White - Pyatt - Paajarvi
Chabot - DeMelo
Lajoie - Ceci
Borowiecki - Wideman
Anderson (starter)
Condon
Some thoughts:
- Elliotte Friedman’s 31 Thoughts from earlier today had a fun note about the change to The System. The Sens now often have three forwards below the faceoff dots in the offensive zone, something unthinkable 7 months ago.
- Guy Boucher commented that the team now has fast enough guys to do this system, but if you think about the players the team has lost since he took over (Turris, Brassard, Claesson, Karlsson...) I have a hard time believing that’s the reason. I think the GM probably told him to start playing more exciting hockey, or that he could take a hike.
- Do we pronounce the T in Chabot? I lean towards no, but some official guides (including Hockey Reference) say yes.
- So far this season Craig Anderson has looked pretty good. It would be nice if the Sens could have a dependable goalie for the season.
- He’s generated a lot of buzz in the comments, but I’d also like to throw in my opinion that Dylan DeMelo has been quietly very good so far. He’s been a good complement to both Thomas Chabot and Max Lajoie. In a way, he reminds me of Marc Methot in that he does the right little things to allow his partner to shine. /
Here are some stats for tonight, via NHL.com and NaturalStatTrick.com:
Team Stats
| Category | Ottawa | Senators | Philadelphia | Flyers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -- | Value | Rank | Value | Rank |
| Goals/GP | 3.67 | 10th | 3.00 | 15th |
| Goalst against/GP | 4.33 | 24th | 5.00 | 28th |
| Shots/GP | 26.7 | 23rd | 31.7 | 17th |
| Shots again/GP | 36.7 | 29th | 36.0 | 27th |
| Powerplay % | 12.5 | 21st | 23.1 | 15th |
| Penalty Kill % | 71.4 | 24th | 75.0 | 16th |
| Corsi (5v5, Score & Venue Adjusted) | 42.62 | 24th | 41.89 | 25th |
| Fenwick (5v5, SVA) | 44.22 | 23rd | 42.31 | 24th |
Player Stats
| Ottawa | Senators | Philadelphia | Flyers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -- | Player | # | Player | # |
| Goals | Dzingel, Chabot | 2 | Wayne Simmonds | 3 |
| Assists | Smith, Chabot | 3 | Claude Giroux | 4 |
| Points | Thomas Chabot | 5 | Simmonds, Giroux | 4 |
| Shots | Ryan Dzingel | 10 | Simmonds, Gostisbehere | 12 |
| TOI/GP | Cody Ceci | 22:37 | Ivan Provorov | 24:23 |
