The Set up:
The Senators will look to shake off their season opening loss to Carolina and make some noise for their home opener today! Flashbacks of last seasons raucous crowd for the home opener against Boston will surely be on the minds of all the players as they arrive to Canadian Tire this morning.
Last game we saw Mathieu Joseph, Parker Kelly and Tim Stützle find the back of sdthe net while Drake Batherson rang several shots off the post that narrowly missed being goals themselves. Look for this high octane offense to challenge Philadelphia early and often today as they look to set the tone at home.
Philadelphia on the other hand will look to turn their season opening victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets into the start of a season opening win streak to start the season. Led by their fierce right winger Travis Konecny who led the team in scoring last season and got off to a blazing pace in their season opener with two goals, this Flyers team could pose a handful.
With a sellout crowd at their backs the Senators will surely feed off that energy and give the fans something to cheer about tomorrow as the Senators get set to kick off the 2023-24 home campaign!
Roster Notes:
Below is how the Senators skated at their morning practice yesterday:
Brady Tkachuk – Tim Stützle – Claude Giroux
Mathieu Joseph – Ridly Greig – Vladimir Tarasenko
Dominik Kubalik – Rourke Chartier – Drake Batherson
Parker Kelly – Mark Kastelic – Zack MacEwen
Josh Norris
Jakob Chychrun – Thomas Chabot
Jake Sanderson – Artem Zub
Erik Brannstrom – Travis Hamonic
Nothing has been announced yet however, it looks like Zack MacEwen has been cleared to skate today. Additionally, there has been no stated change with Norris’ status however he looked strong in practice yesterday, while it’s unlikely he’s skating today he seems to be inching closer to a return to action.
Plaza Events:
Fans coming to the home opener today are encouraged to come early to start the celebrations as the Senators are hosting a bevy of events on the plaza starting at 10:30 a.m. There will be a Molson beer tent serving $5 beer, various food offerings, a live performance by Eastbound of Bytown, the United by Hockey Mobile Museum, and partnership activations such as a photo booth, face painting, and pickle ball. On top of all that fun, the first 10,000 fans in attendance will get an LED wristband!
Pre-game celebrations:
Make sure you get to your seats early because the show really starts at 12:45! To start things off Sparty, the players, and coaching and training staff will all have special introductions. Following that the team will celebrate Claude Giroux hitting 1000 career NHL points, a milestone that he hit in the final home game last season but the team didn’t have an opportunity to celebrate it. After all of that rumor has it that fans will get treated to a few surprise appearances before the puck officially hits the ice…keep your eyes (and ears) open!
Where to watch:
For those not at Canadian Tire Centre, today’s game can be caught live on TSN5 and RDS,. Additionally, TSN 1200 and Unique 94,5 will have live play-by-play and colour commentary in English and French respectively.
