Game 73 Preview: Ottawa Senators @ Vancouver Canucks
Can the Sens keep the run of good (or at least entertaining) play going?
After one of their best efforts of the year on Saturday, the Sens have hit the road for Western Canada.
Anders Nilsson is expected to get the start, with Craig Anderson to get the back to back. Here are the expected lines:
Duclair - Gibbons - Boedker
Balcers - Tierney - Paajarvi
Smith - Lindberg - Ryan
Wolanin - Ceci
Harpur - DeMelo
Borowiecki - Jaros
Nilsson (Starter)
Anderson
Game Notes
- One of these two teams will tie their longest winning streak of the season tonight, at just three in a row
- The Canucks will probably be desperate to keep their playoff hopes on life support tonight
- Sens are playing with fire with the roster - exactly enough healthy bodies to ice a full lineup, with nobody to spare on a west coast road trip
- On that note, Cody Ceci left practice early today but is expected to play tonight
- Still standings-watching? The Sens are only two points behind the LA Kings! At a glance, they’ve got a similar strength-of-schedule remaining.
- Ending on some good news, Thomas Chabot will be joining the team and may be able to play on Saturday in Edmonton/
Here are some stats from NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick:
Team Stats
| Ottawa | Senators | Buffalo | Sabres | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Value | Rank | Value | Rank |
| Goals/GP | 2.96 | 18th | 2.69 | 24th |
| Goals Against/GP | 3.69 | 31st | 3.25 | 23rd |
| Shots/GP | 29.9 | 24th | 32.6 | 10th |
| Shots Against/GP | 36.0 | 31st | 33.1 | 24th |
| Powerplay % | 20.3 | 15th | 18.2 | 18th |
| Penalty Kill % | 79.1 | 23rd | 80.7 | 16th |
| Corsi (5v5, Score & Venue Adjusted) | 44.32 | 31st | 49.02 | 18th |
| Fenwick (5v5, SVA) | 44.93 | 31st | 49.03 | 19th |
Player Stats
| Ottawa | Senators | Buffalo | Sabres | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -- | Player | # | Player | # |
| Goals | Brady Tkachuk | 19 | Jeff Skinner | 37 |
| Assists | Chris Tierney / Thomas Chabot | 37 | Jack Eichel | 49 |
| Points | Thomas Chabot | 50 | Jack Eichel | 75 |
| Shots | Brady Tkachuk | 187 | Jack Eichel | 278 |
| TOI/GP | Thomas Chabot | 24:07 | Rasmus Ristolainen | 24:42 |