They're not playing for a playoff berth anymore, but the Ottawa Senators are still very much playing for their pride.
And after a five-game losing streak that all but guaranteed they'd be heading home after game eighty-two, you have to wonder whether or not this team's really going to show up down the now-meaningless stretch.
If Thursday's game was any indication, the team is still going to fight. Maybe the fight's just not good enough, but there were a lot of things to like about Ottawa's 5-4 loss to Tampa Bay. For the most part, I thought Ottawa -- for the first time in a while -- was the better team. But, same story as it's ever been this year: the defense was a trainwreck, and the goaltending just wasn't very good.
The defense and goaltending have really taken a beating over the last few weeks, and rightfully so. It was interesting to hear Robin Lehner comment on the situation -- he called out the team for its poor play recently, but was also candid about his own play, which he said flat-out "sucked".
He also added this:
"What is there to say now, I don't know, it's pretty empty. It's tough to be in (the locker room) right now."
Dallas is still in the playoff mix, frantically chasing the likes of Phoenix for the final wild card berth. The Stars are four points back with a game in-hand, so the gap perhaps isn't as wide as it appears. Dallas, as you would expect, is getting into must-win territory, especially after an ugly 0-3-0 road trip that saw them fall behind the pack.
Lindy Ruff, however, is remaining optimistic after their most recent loss to Philadelphia:
"If we play like that night after night, we'll win. We didn't give up a lot in the game. We gave up four goals but we didn't give up four goals on a lot of opportunities and zone time. Our puck movement was good.
Concerning today's lineups, Craig Anderson's still not healthy, so it'll likely be Robin Lehner squaring off with Tim Thomas. It appears Dallas is saving Kari Lehtonen for a potential return from injury Sunday against Winnipeg.
Puck drops at 3:00 PM ET.
Thanks for reading!