The Ottawa Senators look to get back to winning ways and stay in the hunt for what looks like the last remaining playoff spot available to them when they finish their 3 game road trip in New Jersey to face the Devils.
Both teams are coming in off shootout losses, the Senators falling 5-4 to the Sabres and the Devils dropping a 3-2 decision to the Islanders, both on Monday night.
For the Senators, Jean-Gabriel Pageau is slated to make his season debut with the big club, after being called up on Sunday but not playing on Monday night. As of Tuesday, Dave Cameron did not make public who would be coming out for Pageau, but a good guess would be Colin Greening.
Chris Phillips, a healthy scratch for the last two games, will return to the lineup with Patrick Wiercioch coming out. Phillips was going to enter the lineup anyway, but the decision was made clearer because Wiercioch was banged up during Monday’s loss.
Craig Anderson will return to the net after Robin Lehner played the last two games for Ottawa. Anderson is a career 7-2-1 against New Jersey with a SP of .944 and GAA of just 2.04.
Expect Cory Schnieder to start for the Devils after Keith Kinkaid played in the shootout loss to the Islanders. Schneider has played in 29 of the Devils 32 games so far this season, and that workload might be catching up with him as he has allowed 7 goals in his last 2 games, both losses. He has faced the Senators just 3 times in his career, but has never lost in regulation (2-0-1). His numbers are impressive, with a 1.28 GAA and .958 SP.
This is the second meeting of the season of the teams, with the Devils and veteran Jaromir Jagr leaving Canadian Tire Centre with a 3-2 overtime win on October 25th.
Jagr leads the Devils in scoring once again, as the ageless wonder passed Steve Yzerman for 7th on the all-time assists list on Monday night. The Devils are at a turning point in their franchise, with many of their key players aging quickly (Jagr, Elias, Zidlicky, Gomez, Ryder) and they will soon be a team in transition.
The Senators are just 4 points behind the Panthers (who have a game in hand) but you have to look way up to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have opened up an 11 point gap on the Senators (the Sens having a game in hand). I know the Leafs have played a very home-heavy schedule so far, but once the gap reaches double digits, it is tough to reel a team in. That means the Bruins and Senators are essentially chasing the Panthers for the final spot they are eligible for, while the last playoff spot in the Metropolitan division is also ripe for the picking for most of the rest of the chase pack.
SENATORS AT 30
The Senators reached the 30 game mark on Monday night and it can no longer be considered “early… in the season. As I have done after the 10 and 20 game marks, lets take a quick look at where the Senators stand.
First, let’s look at the “adjusted… standings, where each team sits at their 30 game mark. Note that the Panthers and Rangers have only played 29 games*
As I have indicated before, the target per 10 game segement is 12 points, a value that will virtually guarantee a playoff berth. As you can see, the Senators managed just 8 points in the last 10 games, which brought them well off pace. Granted, it was an extremely difficult string of games.
Obviously the big news in this segment was the firing of Paul MacLean and the promotion of Dave Cameron to head coach. The Senators have played 3 games under Cameron and although there has been an adjustment period, visually the Senators seem to be functioning at a slightly higher level and the next 10 games will show more growth and give a better picture of what the team will be like under Cameron.
So how have the Senators number stacked up over the last 10 games as opposed to the previous segments?
You can see 2 big factors, 1 positive and 1 negative, that have impacted the Senators' play of late: 1) The power play has struggled of late; and 2) their 5 on 5 possession numbers are on the rise. If they can get their play with the man advantage back up to the 20% range, and given the lighter schedule they have, the Senators might be able to claw their way back and regain some of the ground they lost over the last 20 games.