Game Day Five: Predators vs Senators, Jan. 9
By
Daniel Chisholm
Hockey Content and Social Media Specialist
The set-up
Looking to get back to the winning ways the Senators have grown used to recently, the Senators face a heavy opponent in Nashville here tonight. Nashville comes into tonight on a three-game win streak, the last two against heavy hitters Carolina and Washington. Largely led by the play of Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi and Matt Duchene who have tallied 34, 31 and 30 points respectively, Nashville can strike from all over the ice. Josi in particular is a threat from all over, widely regarded as one of the leagues top defencemen, with a heck of a scoring touch to boot!
However, the Senators come into this game with something to prove. Brushing off their last game against Seattle, they had won four of their last five games and boast perhaps the best combined special teams in the league. Currently the top penalty kill unit in the league since December 1st, not having given up a single power play goal in a month, and the fourth ranked power play this season at 28.1%. On top of that the Senators stars are playing some of their best hockey right now. Tim Stützle logged a hat trick last game ,the first for the Senators since April 3rd 2022 when Josh Norris scored three against Detroit. Additionally, Alex DeBrincat and Drake Batherson have become regular fixtures on the score sheet each having strung together long point streaks of late, with Batherson scoring 13 straight to move into third on the all-time point streak list a week ago. Though those streaks have since ended, the point is clear, the offence on this team is clicking and will need to be again here tonight against a tough Nashville squad.
Roster notes
No injury updates to report ahead of tonight's game. Below is how the Senators lined up this morning during practice at Canadian Tire Centre:
Forwards:
Tkachuk - Stützle - Giroux
DeBrincat - Pinto - Batherson
Kelly - Gambrell - Lucchini
Brassard - Kastelic - Watson
Joseph - Norris
Defense:
Chabot - Zub
Sanderson - Hamonic
Brannstrom - Holden
Sens Skills recap
Yesterday's Sens Skills event was a resounding success with Team Black, led by Brady Tkachuk walking away the victors! In the opening puck control relay Team Black took the win in a sudden death one-on-one race between Josh Norris (black) and Shane Pinto (white) that Norris got the edge late for the win. Mark Kastelic flashed his speed as he clocked a 14.072 lap in the fastest skater competition to hold the title. Meanwhile, Drake Batherson, who came into the hardest shot competition just hoping to crack 100MPH, shot right past that winning with a final speed of 103.9MPH. To round out the individual events Josh Norris (black) again won the shooting accuracy competition in sudden death against Shane Pinto (white). However, Pinto did set an NHL record with a time of 7.051 seconds in the opening round of the accuracy shooting!
The events themselves were exciting to watch however the players response to the fans was equally if not more incredible. Following the events players threw foam pucks and mini sticks to the fans, signed autographs and gave out some of their own sticks. Perhaps the best interaction was goaltender Cam Talbot who traded his stick to a fan who had a mint condition Cam Talbot rookie card from his college days at the University of Alabama Huntsville. All this is to say, this team and these fans are second to none!
Who to watch
Fresh off his third NHL All-Star selection forward Brady Tkachuk wasted no time getting on the score sheet against Seattle. Tkachuk drew the game even at one a piece just after the halfway mark of the first period. Though the game didn't go the way the team would have liked it to, that goal shook the proverbial monkey off the back of Tkachuk who had been without a goal for nine games. As the captain has shown time and time again, goals come in bunches for him so keep your eyes peeled for Tkachuk to light the lamp here tonight and add to his team leading 40 points.
Where to watch
For those not at Canadian Tire Centre, Monday's game can be seen live on Sportsnet One and RDS2. Fans can also tune into the radio call on TSN 1200 and Unique FM 94,5.
