The last time Minnesota Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau was in Ottawa in a hockey capacity was when he interviewed for the vacant head coaching job of the Senators. When he left town he looked like the front runner, and Senators fans felt spurned when he promptly agreed to a contract with the Wild.
We all know that Guy Boucher was quickly named the Senators head coach shortly thereafter, and whether it was completely true or not, Pierre Dorion spun it to confirm that Boucher was the first choice all along and the Senators did get their man.
Now Boudreau brings his veteran Wild club to Ottawa, and for the second game in a row the Senators get to host a team on the second half of a back to back, and coming in off a loss. The Wild dropped a 3-2 decision in Philadelphia Saturday night, and it will be a tough turnaround for the visitors, with a 5:00 pm start.
Ottawa turned what looked like a defeat into a last second victory in their last outing on Friday night, and will look to build on what was in my mind their best period of hockey in a couple of weeks in the third. If they can translate that performance into more of the game, they will be in good shape, especially against a team with tired legs. This is the final game of four straight on the road and you can imagine they may just want to pack it in and get home if Ottawa can jump out to an early lead.
Eric Staal leads the Wild with 12 points in 13 games, and Ryan Suter leads the defensemen with 11 points.
The Wild have one of the best goal differentials in the Western Conference, having scored 12 more goals than they have allowed. Ottawa will likely get a break as Devan Dubnyk played last night and faced 37 shots so the Senators will likely face Darcy Kuemper and his 4.00 GAA and .871 SP in two starts this season. Kuemper hasn't played since allowing five goals to the Islanders on October 23rd, so this will be a good chance for Boudreau to get him some playing time.
There will likely be no changes to the lineup from Friday nights win.