The Ottawa Senators appear to be getting healthy. With the team in Washington for a matchup against the league-leading Capitals on Tuesday night, the improved bill of health couldn’t have been delivered at a better time. Head coach D.J. Smith announced Monday that he is hopeful that both Anthony Duclair and Dylan DeMelo, two of Ottawa’s most important pieces this year, will be ready to go.
Tuesday’s game is a tale of two teams sitting on opposite ends of the standings ladder. The Capitals, as mentioned, sit first overall with a record of 29-9-5, while the Senators sit only one point up on 30th place thanks to a three-game losing streak. It certainly wouldn’t be unfair to suggest that the Senators have their work cut out for them in this game.
While the challenge is obviously quite daunting, the Senators lineup set to take it on looks as good as any Senators lineup has looked in recent weeks. If Monday’s practice lines are any indication, D.J. Smith is expected to utilize a setup like this:
Monday practice lines:
— TSN 1200 (@TSN1200) January 6, 2020
Tkachuk -Pageau- Duclair
Paul- White- Batherson
Ennis- Tierney -C.Brown
Namestnikov -Anisimov- Balcers
Boedker- xxxxxx -Sabourin
Chabot -DeMelo
Borowiecki -Jaros
Rielly -Goloubef
Englund -Hainsey
Also of note is the fact that, assuming he plays, Tuesday will mark Vladislav Namestnikov’s 400th career National Hockey League game. The former first-round draft pick has tallied eight goals and 18 points in 37 games with Ottawa this season, which should be enough to earn him some interest at the trade deadline.
The nice thing for Namestnikov and his Senators teammates in this game is that nobody expects them to have success. They can go out and play their high-tempo, pesky game without fear. It’s a recipe that has led to some fairly surprising results on more than a few occasions for this team in 2019-20. Perhaps Tuesday can be another chapter in that story.
Enjoy the game! As always, thanks for reading.