Game Day 5: OTT at NYI

The set up:

The Senators hit the road and are looking to right the ship after back-to-back divisional losses at home to close out their homestand. After mounting a furious comeback against Buffalo on Tuesday the Senators feel that it is far from time to start worrying and with good reason. The team has been a top five offence in the early part of this season and has shown flashes already of being ready to take the next step this season. 

It's hard to chalk the results up to puck luck but when the Senators have held teams to just 26.3 shots per game, the second lowest in the NHL, it's hard to ignore. There have been a bevy of tough bounces and the opposing teams just capitalizing on the few strong scoring chances that they have found. Either way should the Senators keep up their high scoring ways and keep limiting shots the results will begin to fall in the right place.

The Islanders will be looking to pick up poins here tonight after dropping three straight to Colarado, Buffalo and New Jersey. With some of the best goaltending in the league in the NHL behind Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov, the Senators will have their work cut out for them trying to fing the back of the net. On the offensive side of the puck the Islanders boast some elits talents led by Matthew Barzal and Bo Horvat that the Senators will have to slow down early. Tonight will also feature a reunion as the Senators will see former teammate Julien Gauthier for the first time since signing with the Islanders this offseason.

Roster report:

Below is how the Senators skated this morning during their practice at Canadian Tire Centre:

Who to watch:

Set to skate in his 800th career NHL game Travis Hamonic is our player to watch tonight. 800 games is no small feat, something only 764 skaters in the entire history of the NHL have done before. The significance of the milestone is not lost on Hamonic who expressed his what this means for him and his family that you can hear below.

Coming into tonight Hamonic has scored 50 goals, added 180 assists for 230 career points and more shots blocked than can really be counted! He has been a steadying presence for this Senators blue line and played a crucial role in the development of budding star defenceman Jake Sanderson last season.

It will be a special moment for Hamonic to skate in his 800th game, especially back here on Long Island where he played so many of those 800 games. However, surely it won't be long before he's focused solely on the game tonight and the 75 games we have left to play this season.

Special Teams pick-me-up:

While no team in the NHL can be taken lightly in any facet of the game, the Senators may have an opportunity today to capitalize on special teams. Struggling in the last two games to convert on the power play, going just 2/11 the Senators may receive just the boost they need for their man advantage tonight. The Islanders have the third lowest penalty kill percentage in the league stopping just 68.8% of the chances they face. With as many scoring threats as this team has, expect them to take full advantage tonight when they're on the power play.

Additionally, the Senators penalty kill will have a chance to get their feet back under them as they have given up goals on four of their last seven penalties. The Islanders boast just a 12.5% power play percentage scoring just twice this season with the man advantage. The Senators will look to keep that trend alive tonight as they get their special teams back to where they were.

Where to watch:

Tonight's game can be found on TSN5 with the English broadcast, while RDS2 will provide French coverage. Additionally, TSN1200 and Unique FM 94,5 have you covered on radio in English and French respectively.