The Senators will wrap up a two-game swing through the mountains with a Thursday night visit to the league-leading Colorado Avalanche. Ottawa and Colorado are both coming off back-to-back losses. For the Senators, the game will spell a chance to get right and salvage their road trip.
“They’re obviously the best team in the league right now, and [with us] on a back-to-back, we can’t feed into their offence, we can’t force things because they’re just going to capitalize off that,” said Dylan Cozens after Wednesday’s loss to Utah. “Just got to stick with our game plan and try to grind them down.”
Last season through 42 games, the Senators were 21-18-3, good for the same 45 points that the team holds this season (with a 20-17-5 record.)
They are only four points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card berth — but ahead of only the Columbus Blue Jackets in the crowded Eastern Conference. The two-game trip marks the first of four back-to-backs in the month of January as they look to jockey for position in that race.
“It’s one of those seasons where you don’t have a lot of downtime between games whether you win or lose,” said Travis Green after the game. “You’ve got to reset fast and get ready to play your next game.”
