Game Day Notes: Game #10 - Sens vs. Islanders
by Craig Medaglia @craigmedaglia / Ottawa Senators
Lots going on at Canadian Tire Centre tonight! Here's a quick rundown of everything you need to know before the puck drops against the New York Islanders at 7:30 p.m.
JGP on the PK
Sens head coach D.J. Smith has praised the team's penalty kill early this season and for good reason. Ottawa currently sits 13th overall in the league in PK% (82.5%) while being 5th in times shorthanded (40) and his shorthanded unit has netted 3 goals on the penalty kill already which is good for 2nd most in the NHL.
"It keeps them accountable," said Jean-Gabriel Pageau who scored his first shorthanded goal of the season on Wednesday against the Detroit. "They know our PK is going to work hard so they're going to have to work as hard because they know our PK will go and try to have our chances also. Obviously, our main goal is to kill the penalty but we're going when we have the chance."
"It's good for our confidence knowing that we can score and defend goals on the penalty kill."
Video: DET@OTT: Pageau nets SHG on two-on-one rush
Pageau currently tops the league in SH TOI (34:57) and SH TOI/GP (3:59) but made sure to credit the team's best shorthanded defenders when asked about the team's success on the PK this year.
"I've always said that your best penalty killer is your goalie," he said. "Since the start of the year they've given us the chance to kill off most of the penalties and they're making the saves when we need it."
Projected line-up
No line-up changes are expected for tonight's game and the coach will roll with the same group as Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Red Wings.
"What I saw (on Wednesday) was some hungry players," said Smith. "I think part of this process is that you have to reward the guys who work the hardest and you always have to have people pushing from behind you."
Video: OTT vs. NYI | Coach Pre-game Media
Here's a look at the Sens' projected forward lines and defence pairings for tonight:
Tkachuk - L. Brown - Duclair
Namestnikov - Tierney - Ryan
Paul - Pageau - C. Brown
Ennis - Beaudin - Sabourin
Chabot - Zaitsev
Brannstrom - Hainsey
Borowiecki - DeMelo
In goal
After another big performance on Wednesday against Detroit, Anders Nilsson (1-2-1) is back between the pipes tonight for the Senators. Nilsson, who was originally drafted by the Islanders back in 2009, is coming off a trio of solid outings and has stopped 127 of the last 133 shots he's faced over that span.
90's Night
*rewind noise*
We're taking it back to the 90's at tonight's game and have a bunch of cool retro stuff going on at the rink. For starters, the first 2,500 fans at the game will score themselves a complimentary Sens snapback hat and if you needed another reason to arrive a little early the beer garden will be open at 6 p.m with a pre-game door crasher of $5 Molson Canadian & Molson Coors Light (Outdoor Beer Tent only).
Also, be sure to swing by the Molson Fan Deck to button bash some of your favorite 90's arcade games and brace yourself for DJ Prosper's set tonight because he's going 90's vintage.
Where to watch
It's a 7:30 p.m. start at Canadian Tire Centre tonight and here's how you can catch all the action between the Sens and Islanders...
TICKETS: ottsens.com/SensTicketHub
BROADCAST: TSN5, RDS2
RADIO: TSN 1200, 94,5 Unique FM