The bad news just really doesn’t stop, does it?

Yesterday we learned that Thomas Chabot has a broken hand, and it looks as if his season is over. There are only 22 games left, but this season is really stripping any fun and good news from us. While the fans of the Ottawa Senators can tune out the team as much or as little as they’d like, the players don’t have that luxury, as there is still a lot of hockey to be played, and many of them are playing for jobs next season.

In what is the penultimate game before Monday’s trade deadline, the Philadelphia Flyers come to Ottawa as a team that has had a similarly awful season. They have a paltry record of 19-30-11, just 2 points ahead of the Senators despite many talented players on their roster. The stakes are low in this contest, but that’s a good opportunity to find some silver linings at the end of the night.

Here are tonight’s projected lines (which may change this afternoon), with Anton Forsberg starting in net:

Thursday practice lines.
(No Chabot or Stutzle)

Tkachuk Norris White
Formenton Paul CBrown
Ennis Tierney Gaudette
Sanford Gambrell Watson
Kelly

Brannstrom Zub
Holden Zaitsev
Mete JBrown

— TSN 1200 (@TSN1200) March 17, 2022

However, Bruce Garrioch is reporting that changes could be made later today in regards to Nick Paul, Zach Sanford, and Josh Brown:

Decisions on whether the likes of Nick Paul, Zach Sanford and Josh Brown play tonight will be made later in the day. #Sens

— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) March 18, 2022

Game Notes:

• I expect Chabot’s absence to be a huge loss for them, as nobody else comes close to what he brings. The defense will be a massive work in progress, but hopefully Erik Brännström can shine.
• As of now, Tim Stützle is out of the lineup as well, although that could change at any moment. He has a lower-body injury and it’s unclear what his status is.
• The first pairing of Brännström-Zub will be interesting to watch, and I hope they can build some chemistry to end the season.
• Nick Paul is getting a lot of attention, as it appears he isn’t close to re-signing with the Senators. If he gets dealt, he’ll certainly be missed in Ottawa.
• Claude Giroux is another name that won’t be playing, as the longtime Flyer played his 1000th game on Thursday but will be held out of the lineup while it seems he will inevitably be dealt somewhere. The latest rumour was Florida, but who knows if that is true.
• Ottawa has lost three straight games and is 2-8-0 in their last 10 games, while Philadelphia won their last game but is 4-5-1 in their last 10.
• The only matchup between these two occurred in December 18th, which was right before a stretch of postponed games for Ottawa. The Flyers won 4-3 in overtime in an entertaining game where the Senators were leading until 5:25 left./

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