Game Day Five: Senators at Avalanche, Jan. 14
By
Daniel Chisholm
Hockey Content and Social Media Specialist
The set-up
It's often said to be the best you have to beat the best. Now while the Avalanche are not sitting atop the standings, they are the reigning Stanley Cup champions and they come every night with that championship pedigree level of hockey. Led by their star trio of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen the Avalanche are a dangerous team any given night. MacKinnon is averaging a career best 1.4 points per game this season, while Rantanen is on pace for his first 100-point season this year. Slowing down the Avalanche will be a challenge, but one the Senators are up for.
Coming off a win against Arizona the Senators are looking to carry that momentum into tonight's match. Though the game finished 5-3 the Senators easily could have had another goal or two on their 47 shots on goal. While the penalty kill gave up a rare goal in that effort, they still rank at the top of the league since the beginning of December, a unit the Avalanche will get no breaks from. More important than their offence or ability to kill off penalties, the Senators got back to their brand of hockey against Arizona. In a physical game from start to finish, Ottawa was aggressive on the forecheck, and logged 39 hits to keep the play in Arizona's end as much as they could. When the puck did get into their end they didn't give up much blocking a staggering 22 shots on the night.
If the Senators want to walk away with the win over the Stanley Cup champs they will have to stick with that brand of hockey and make everything difficult against a really good Colorado team. Don't forget that last year the Senators won the last match up between these two when Brady Tkachuk potted the overtime winner on a breakaway at Canadian Tire Centre. Additionally, they took Colorado to the wire at Ball Arena last season scoring five goals
Roster notes
There are no injury updates to report. Given the timing of the game tonight the Senators did not hold a practice today. Below is how the Senators lined up for their game against Arizona two nights ago:
Forwards:
Tkachuk - Stützle - DeBrincat
Giroux - Pinto - Batherson
Kelly - Gambrell - Lucchini
Brassard - Kastelic - Watson
Defense:
Chabot - Zub
Sanderson - Hamonic
Brannstrom - Holden
NHL All-Star voting
Today is the final day of the Twitter portion of the NHL All-Star vote. Fans can tweet, retweet or quote tweet anything with the hashtag #NHLAllStarVote followed by the player's name, hashtag or twitter handle. For example: #NHLAllStarVote Tim Stützle, #NHLAllStarVote #TimStützle or #NHLAllStarVote @timstuetzle18.
Alternatively, the online portion of the vote is open until January 17th. Click here to cast your vote online and help get more Senators in the festivities!
Who to watch
Calling Thursday's game against Arizona a must win seems like a stretch however, it was certainly a game the Senators needed to right the ship. This was clearly a message Jake Sanderson took to heart as he laid it all on the line to help the Senators pull out the victory. Providing two assists on the night, including an incredible pass to Mark Kastelic to chip in what would be the game winning goal.
Though the assists may draw the eye when looking at the stat sheet from that game there is one other stat that truly sums up his impact on this win. When the Senators were up just one goal late in the game and Arizona had a chance to tie it up, Sanderson laid his body on the line to get a crucial blocked shot and keep the Senators on top. A play that may well have secured the win. Look for Sanderson to continue his stellar play on both sides of the ice here tonight!
Where to watch
Saturday's game can be seen live on Sportsnet One and TVAS2. Fans can also tune into the radio call on TSN 1200 and Unique FM 94,5.
