Game Day Five: Senators at Flames, Mar. 12
By
Daniel Chisholm
Hockey Content and Social Media Specialist
The set-up
Tonight's clash with Calgary presents two teams in an eerily similar position. Nearly identical in points with the Senators having 70 while Calgary has 71, both teams are fighting for a Wild Card playoff spot and sit just six points out each. On top of that, both teams come into tonight hungry, looking to put disappointing losses behind them.
The Senators have had some ups and downs of late, but are still 6-4-0 in their last ten games as they sit just six points out of the playoffs with three games in hand on the New York Islanders. With Calgary's electric offence it will be imperative for the Senators to defend as a group of five, something that tends to be an extra point of emphasis with the group following a loss. The Senators will need their best players to step up tonight, looking to the top lines of Tim Stützle, Brady Tkachuk and Claude Giroux as well as Alex DeBrincat, Shane Pinto and Drake Batherson to provide an offensive spark. Additionally, the offence created by their defensive trio of Thomas Chabot, Jakob Chychrun and Jake Sanderson will go a long way to take control of this game.
Calgary has had some struggles lately going 3-5-2 over their last ten games, though they've faced some formidable foes along the way including Toronto, Colorado, Las Vegas and Boston. When things are going right for Calgary the goals come in bunches as a result of their 35.5 shots per game, the second most in the NHL. Though the Senators will have their hands full with Tyler Toffoli, Elias Lindholm and Nazem Kadri who have 55, 53, and 47 points on the year, they won't be able to key in on just them as Calgary boasts nine different skaters with 30+ points this season.
Roster notes
Head coach D.J. Smith mentioned in his morning media session that Parker Kelly, Erik Brannstrom and Julien Gauthier will return to the line-up tonight. With no morning skate today, below is how the Senators lined up against the Vancouver Canucks last night:
Forwards:
Tkachuk - Stützle - Giroux
DeBrincat - Pinto - Batherson
Joseph - Gambrell - Brown
Brassard - Kastelic - Watson
Defense:
Chabot - Zub
Sanderson - Hamonic
Chychrun - Holden
Back-to-backs
The Senators came into this season with 12 back-to-backs on the calendar, with Calgary marking the conclusion of the tenth of the year. Thus far the Senators have done well in back-to-backs having gone 11-8-0 overall. While strategy changes for both games of a back-to-back it's really the back end of it that poses a challenge in which the Senators have fared quite well having gone 6-3 in the second game of a back-to-back. Of course, the last time the Senators faced Calgary it was also a part of a back-to-back in which the Senators claimed the victory in overtime after an epic come back in the third period before beating the Islanders the next night in a shootout.
Who to watch
When the chips are down, they best players step up and often times those players are the veterans that have seen it all. That could not be more true of Claude Giroux who has provided timely goals for the team all season and helps keep the team even keeled during the highs and the lows. Giroux scored the game-tying goal against Seattle two games ago before providing the Senators first goal in their comeback effort last night. As the Senators continue to make their playoff push here late in the season, look for Giroux to put his stamp on this outing and continue to help lift this group to new heights.
Where to watch
Sunday's game can be seen live on TSN5 and RDS. Fans can also tune into the radio call on TSN 1200 and Unique FM 94,5.
