Game 47 Preview: Boston Bruins @ Ottawa Senators
We just had a break, but it’s almost time for another!
Remember when the bye week ended a week ago? Guess what, it’s almost time for another break — the All-Star break! Tonight the Bruins come to town, and then the Senators don’t play again until Tuesday against the Hurricanes.
According to the Sens’ Twitter account, Jean-Gabriel Pageau returns from injury (likely in place of Erik Burgdoerfer) and Mike Condon gets the start in goal. Here’s my estimate at tonight’s lines and pairings:
Hoffman - Duchene - DiDomenico
Dzingel - Brassard - Ryan
Dumont - Burrows
Chabot - Karlsson
Phaneuf - Ceci
Borowiecki - Claesson
Burgdoerfer
Condon (starter)
Anderson
Some thoughts:
- Tonight’s Chris Neil appreciation night, celebrating a guy who hit 1026 games with the franchise. If you’re going, make sure to bring your “Raise the Roof” arms out of respect
- The land agreement for the Sens’ relocation to LeBreton Flats has been agreed to in principal. You can find B_T’s analysis here.
- Guy Boucher told TSN 1200 that the Bruins have been helped by giving their young players a big role. For some reason, he’s been very reluctant to do the same on Ottawa.
- I was disappointed Mark Stone hadn’t been made an All-Star, but now it looks like he’s gonna need the time to heal anyway
- I’m curious to see if Colin White gets a shot in the top six tonight, especially if the Sens fall behind early
- Brad Marchand will be out tonight, serving the first game of his five-game suspension
- Brace yourselves, because after the All-Star Game, it’s gonna be all trade rumours all the time until the deadline/
Some stats for each team:
Team Stats
| Category | Ottawa | Senators | Boston | Bruins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -- | Value | Rank | Value | Rank |
| Goals/GP | 2.68 | 25th | 3.25 | 6th |
| Goals against/GP | 3.44 | 30th | 2.56 | 3rd |
| Shots/GP | 30.7 | 24th | 32.8 | 11th |
| Shots against/GP | 33.0 | 25th | 29.3 | 2nd |
| Powerplay % | 16.7 | 26th | 23.5 | 4th |
| Penalty Kill % | 76.2 | 27th | 83.3 | 4th |
| Corsi (5v5, Score & Venue Adjusted) | 46.32 | 29th | 53.97 | 2nd |
| Fenwick (5v5, SVA) | 46.94 | 27th | 54.01 | 1st |
Player Stats
| Ottawa | Senators | Boston | Bruins | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -- | Player | # | Player | # |
| Goals | Matt Duchene | 27 | Brad Marchand | 34 |
| Assists | Erik Karlsson (out) | 53 | Brad Marchand | 51 |
| Points | Karlsson/Stone (both out) | 62 | Brad Marchand | 85 |
| Shots | Mike Hoffman | 253 | David Pastrnak | 236 |
| TOI/GP | Erik Karlsson (out) | 26:44 | Zdeno Chara | 22:53 |
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