Game 74: Philadelphia Flyers @ Ottawa Senators
It seems like only yesterday that we were talking about a big, must-win game against a conference rival that was the Senators were neck-and-neck with in the playoff hunt. Hey, it was yesterday! And the Senators won that one! Now they're faced with a similar task, as the Philadelphia Flyers are only two points behind in the Eastern Conference with one less game played. The Senators need this win to not only gain ground on the Flyers, but also on the other teams fighting for these bottom playoff spots, including the Habs, Bruins, Rangers, and Thrashers.
The Senators may be on the wrong half of a back-to-back, but they have a few things going for them:
- Momentum - the Senators snapped their losing streak against a division rival in convincing fashion, and with a shutout from Brian Elliott. That should get the team (and Elliott in particular) playing with confidence again.
- Health - The Senators are far from a perfect picture of health, missing both Milan Michalek and Filip Kuba due to injury. However, the Philadelphia Flyers are missing more vital elements of their team in Jeff Carter, Ray Emery, and Michael Leighton. This leaves them with Brian Boucher as their starting goalie, which could explain why they've lost 5 of their last 7 games.
- A working powerplay - In the past two games, the Senators have three powerplay goals. If they can continue to have success with the man advantage, it could be the difference between a win and a loss.
- Home Ice Advantage - the Sens return back to Scotiabank Place after a huge win against the Montreal Canadiens. That should hopefully have the home town crowd buzzing.
As always, join in on the comments here before and during the game for some good times.