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OTT G16 v Philadelphia Flyers — Stay Streaking |
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The Ottawa Seantors return home after two successful road victories for a collision course with Calder Trophy favorite Matevi Michkov and the Philadelphia Flyers. Tonight is the first matchup of three for the Flyers and Seantors. Puckdrop is at 7pm from the Canadian Tire Centre on NBCSP; RDS2; and TSN5.
This is also a special night at the CTC, as there will be Indigenous Culture Celebration presented by Indigenous Tourism Ontario.
Ottawa is rolling into this contest satisfied with victories over two Atlantic playoff teams from last season — Toronto and Boston. The Senators also got back their line center Shane Pinto against the Maple Leafs, so the offensive lineup is almost back to full force. Hoping David Perron can get back in soon to complete the mix, but no need to be rushing life off the ice for him and his family.
With the last couple of wins, the players are buying into new coach Travis Green and some of his systems.
“ I'm really confident in our group . We can beat every team” ~ Tim Stützle, TSN
There is a lot of faith in the team play right now, and the results are showing on the ice. Ottawa has two skaters in the top 30 in league scoring. Their defense and goaltending have also combined for 3 shutouts in 15 games! Only Winnipeg and New Jersey match, and Jersey has played in 19.
From Alex Adams of SN
When Stutzle, Norris and Pinto have all played in the same game since the 2020-21 season, the Senators are 30-15-3, which is a .656 points percentage. At that pace, the Senators would earn 108 points in a full season. This season, with all three centres playing, the team has a 5-2-0 record compared to 3-5-0 during Pinto’s injury.
The healthier the lineup, the strong the team is appearing to look. Success is on the horizon. Last star I saw was the Senators are have an 82% of locking a postseason spot per MoneyPuck. Great start with all things going the right way (finally).
Goaltending has been the story in Philadelphia lately, as the backups combine for 1 win; Ersson has won all other Flyers games. Not a good look. Fedetov, the richest goalie on the Flyers, is expected to get the go in the crease.
Ottawa will be starting Linus Ullmark for the third straight game. Ride the hot hand; he did get the team the shutout last time. This is his time to continue shining.
Projected Lineups
Philadelphia Flyers
Owen Tippett—Sean Couturier—Travis Konecny
Joel Farabee—Scott Laughton—Bobby Brink
Anthony Richard—Ryan Phoeling—Matevi Michkov
Tyson Forrester—Noah Cates—Garnet Hathaway
Emil Andrade—Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler—Rasmus Ristalonen
Egor Zamula—Erik Johnson
Ivan Fedetov
Aleksi Kolosov
Injured — Ryan Ellis, Sam Ersson, Jamie Drysdale, Cam York
Ottawa Senators
Brady Tkachuk -- Josh Norris -- Ridly Greig
Claude Giroux -- Tim Stutzle -- Drake Batherson
Noah Gregor -- Shane Pinto -- Michael Amadio
Nick Cousins -- Adam Gaudette -- Zack MacEwen
Jake Sanderson -- Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot -- Nick Jensen
Tyler Kleven -- Travis Hamonic
Linus Ullmark
Anton Forsberg
Scratched: Jacob Bernard-Docker, David Perron
Injured: None
Players to Watch
Philadelphia — Matevi Michkov — already a health bomb in two games under Torts, the Russian rookie has 12 points in 14 games and a -6. His last game, had his fourth multi-point game of the season.
Ottawa — Zach MacEwen — One of two former Flyers on the squad, the fourth liner is one point away from his best offensive season in an Ottawa uniform.
Predicted Final Score
PHI - 3
OTT - 5
Gambling Corner
Ottawa is the heavy favorite over the Flyers. NHL Draft Kings has the Senators at a -185. Massive advantage for the home team.
Personal Note
Sorry Sens fans and upmost apologies to David and Vanessa Perron for misinterpreting the information I read and promise to do due diligence accurately going forward. My previous column has been fixed.
Go Sens Go!
More to come…
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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