The Ottawa Senators host the Detroit Red Wings tonight and they find themselves in the classic horse and carrot scenario. No matter how well they play, the target they are reaching for gets no closer.
Case in point last night, where the Habs and Flyers played a 3 point game, as the Habs climbed back even with the Sens but the Flyers gained a point as well. The Hurricanes also won, keeping themselves in the race. And trailing by 6 points heading into tonight's action, the Senators (or at least their fans) will be scoreboard watching as the two teams that currently hold wild-card spots play each other. I won't say a 3 point game between Pittsburgh and Tampa this afternoon is likely, but as they are tied in the standings it is entirely possible.
But the Senators themselves can't worry about the out of town games, and they just have to focus on winning their third game in a row for the first time in almost 3 months when they play the Wings for the fifth and final time this season.
Ottawa has gone 1-2-1 so far, and hasn't fared well against Petr Mrazek so far. Mrazek has had the Senators' number, but he has allowed 5 goals in each of his last 2 starts, first on 22 shots against the Bruins and then on 32 shots against the Pens before he was pulled. The former 67's goalie who dropped the puck at their game against Kingston last night to a rousing ovation, will be looking to stop that bleeding while the Senators will look to jump on him early and give him that "here we go again" feeling.
The opposite holds true for his counterpart, Craig Anderson. The Ottawa starter hasn't been very good in his 3 starts against the Wings, but is riding a hot streak right now and that has to continue into this one and then carry with him on the road.
Ottawa won't make any lineup changes from the past 2 games, where they did just enough to win. Mark Borowiecki said he is ready to go, but he took extra skating along with Shane Prince and Clarke MacArthur after today's morning skate.
The Senators need to get more from Bobby Ryan, Mike Hoffman and Kyle Turris if they are going to continue to win. Turris is pointless in 7 games this month, while Ryan and Hoffman have combined for just 3 goals and 7 points in the 9 games Ottawa has played in February.
So with a win they could gain ground on one of the Wild Card spots, but also stop Detroit from running away and hiding. The Wings are currently 7 points up on the Senators, and just 1 ahead of Tampa in the Atlantic Division. A win for the Sens will create an even tighter logjam than there already is, but as in the last two games, a loss would be relatively devastating as they reach the 60 game mark tonight.
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