Two days after the Senators and Predators single-handedly rebuked the notion that the NHL needs bigger nets to increase scoring and creating a meltdown among the Ottawa fan basis in the process, the Senators return home to begin a vital 5 game homestand.
Up first is the road-weary Vancouver Canucks, who are in the middle game of their season-high 7 game road trip, starting 1-1-1.
Andrew Hammond will get the call for the Senators after Craig Anderson fumbled the ball somewhat in Nashville. If it were me, at this point in the season I would probably give Hammond 4 or all 5 of the games on this stand and see if he can help the Senators gain some momentum that they have been lacking all season.
The only other lineup change appears to be Matt Puempel being inserted in Shane Prince's spot on the second line, while on the blue line the players will remain the same but Cody Ceci was back paired with Patrick Wiercioch and Jared Cowen was back with Mark Borowiecki today. (POST-PRACTICE UPDATE: Wiercioch is a scratch and Wideman is in)
Ottawa has to turn things around on home ice, because a 2-3-2 record doesn't cut it and will be hazardous to their playoff health. I don't mean to say that this homestand is season-defining, but it is ultra-important in the log-jammed Atlantic Division. They currently sit tied for second (remarkably) but are just 3 points out of 7th.
The Canucks have been riding the coattails of the Sedin twins, who have led the Canucks offensively while future stars like Jared McCann and Jake Virtanen get their feet wet in their rookie seasons.
The records of these two clubs is remarkably similar, in terms of home vs road records as well as offensively. The big difference is that while Ottawa has allowed over 3 goals per game, Vancouver's trio of Ryan Miller, Jacob Markstrom and the injured Richard Backman have combined for a 2.44 GAA, with Miller leading the way with a 2.32 GAA. Markstrom played Tuesday so expect Miller to get back in against the Senators.
KARLSSON THE KEY
In the end, the Senators go as Erik Karlsson goes. It was the same thing last season, When Karlsson flipped the switch from average to Norris, the Senators followed. He certainly hasn't been in Norris mode yet this season and although he has had good games, has yet to be truly dominant like he can be. Perhaps it is the bit of extra mass he carried into the season so not to get so worn down, but his explosiveness isn't there.
While Marc Methot was given a lot of credit for the turnaround of Karlsson last season, but Methot is here this year and the start to Karlsson's season has been pretty similar. Karlsson has a goal and 13 assists through 15 games, he had 3 goals and 8 assists at the same point last year. The offense is similar, but unfortunately so is the defense, which like the first couple of months last year has appeared indifferent once again.
When people criticize Karlsson for his lack of ability to play defense, it is tough to defend when the nightly highlights show him doing his best impression of a road cone, which has been happening with regularity the last couple of weeks.
Ottawa can't afford to have him put up so many bad performances. As Karlsson goes, so will the Senators. If he continues to be wildly inconsistent, so will the team. He has been good at times, and he has been bad at times.
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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