Game Day 5: OTT at BOS

1. The set up:

Game 82/82, the Senators are set to take on the division leading the Boston Bruins with both teams coming in the second night of a back-to-back after suffering a loss. While on paper the Senators don't have much to play for the team has echoed time and time again that it's about finishing the season the right way. We saw that in Washington, Tampa, the final home game against Montreal, and even the loss in Florida. The Senators have been playing solid hockey and want to ensure that despite injuries they leave it all on the ice one last time tonight.

The Bruins have a lot on the line tonight holding a one point lead on the Panthers for the top spot in the Atlantic Division and Florida holding the tie breaker. Effectively the Bruins need to approach this game as win to claim the no. 1 spot, lose in any fashion and they have the no. 2 spot and will face the Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs. 

With David Pastrnak leading the charge on the front end and Linus Ullmark anchoring the back end, this Bruins team is dangerous but should provide a fun battle to watch for the Senators final outing. Be on the lookout for Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson to continue growing their career best marks of 37 and 28 goals respectively.

2. Roster report:

With it being a back-to-back we won't get a look at how the Senators line up for line rushes until warm up. We expect to see Anton Forsberg in net after Joonas Korpisalo went last night in New York. We await an update on the status of Boko Imama who was unable to return to the game last night after suffering an upper body injury, if he is unable to go the assumption is that Zack Ostapchuk would enter the line up on an emergency basis. 

Below is how the Sens lined up last night at Madison Square Garden:

3. Who to watch:

One of four Senators to find the back of the net against the Bruins this season, Thomas Chabot has had a strong showing in this divisional battle. In two games he has one goal and two assists for three points on the Sens four total goals. Beyond that he put Jeremy Swayman to the test when the Bruins were in Ottawa tallying a season high seven shots on goal.

Chabot has been limited in games this season after dealing with a few injuries though in 50 games he has been able to score nine goals and add 21 helpers for 30 points. Though it won't be an easy task, Chabot needs just three assists to chross the 200 assist threshold for his career.

Still very much the leader of this blue line Chabot has averaged 23:22 of ice time this season, his sixth straight season averaging 23+ minutes per game. Look for him to put his stamp on tonight's contest early.

4. History of Sens vs Bruins:

For as long as the Senators have been in the league, they have gone to battle in the same division as the Boston Bruins, meaning that these teams have seen A LOT of each other over the years. All together these two have seen each other 155 times in the regular season with the Bruins walking away the winner in 93 of those games while the Senators took 56 and they tied eight times.

It may surprise fans to know that they have only met in the playoffs once in 2017 when the Senators won 4-2 in the first round. However, since that series win, the Bruins have controlled the series winning 17 of the 21 games these two have played including the last four straight. The Sens will look to put an end to that streak tonight as they hope to put a significant dent in the Bruins playoff plans.

5. Where to watch:

Tonight's game can be found live in English on TSN5 and in French on RDS2. Fans looking for the radio call can tune into TSN1200 and Unique FM 94,5 for the English and French calls respectively.