Barring a mid-day parachute of Detroit-like proportion from last April, the Senators will take to the ice in Vancouver tonight minus what Guy Boucher called their top 2 defensemen. Both Erik Karlsson and Johnny Oduya skated in Ottawa while their teammates assembled in Vancouver, and it doesn't look like either veteran will be able to make the trip in short order.
As I suggested yesterday, the Senators are considering going with 7 defensemen, putting both Thomas Chabot and Christian Jaros in the lineup to replace Ben Harpur, who was recalled when Oduya went down but is now joining Karlsson and Oduya on the sidelines, as he has been placed on IR with a shoulder injury after about 10 minutes of ice time.
However the lineup looks, Ottawa needs to be a greater threat on the power play than they have been through 2 games. Both shootout losses, either one could have easily turned in the Senators' favor if the man advantage had been able to capitalize against either the Capitals or Red Wings.
The host Canucks will be playing just their second game of the season, coming in off a 3-2 win over the Oilers powered by a pair of goals from Bo Horvat. Jacob Markstrom made 33 saves as the Canucks won in regulation despite being outshot 35-26. Brock Boeser, a player many think will be in contention for the Calder Trophy this season, was a healthy scratch for the first game of the season, and it is unsure if he will get into the lineup tonight. If I was him, I would be worried about getting sent down, since two of my 3 preseason Calder picks have already been sent down (Thomas Chabot started the season in the "A" until being recalled for tonight's game and Dylan Strome was sent down by the Coyotes yesterday.
It is a homecoming for Alex Burrows, who will play against his former team for the first time since February's trade that brought him to Ottawa.
It's a late one, with a 10PM Eastern puck drop. Thank goodness the Senators don't play on the West Coast very often, and that the next two games of this roadie in Alberta are on Friday and Saturday night.