It will be a no-name defense that the Ottawa Senators face when they roll into Boston for the first time this season on Saturday night. With three regular defensemen on the shelf (Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug & Kevan Miller), the Bruins D will most likely feature 3 AHL blueliners. Joe Morrow, Zach Trotman and David Warsofsky all suited up in Thursday's 3-2 OT win over the Sabres.
The Bruins have got off to a less than stellar start to the season, with a .500 record (6-6) for 12 points, tied with the Senators. The difference is the Senators have played just 9 games. This is a great opportunity for the Senators to pounce on an injured divisional foe and get some space in the standings while keeping the games in hand.
The Senators are likely to go with the same lineup that earned a point against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night, with the starting goalie still to be announced. Craig Anderson started against the Hawks and didn't really have his "A" game, being good but not great. Robin Lehner has started every Saturday night game so far this season for the Senators, and getting him in on the road after the birth of his child on Thursday might be the way to ease him back in. He has yet to lose in regulation this season (3-0-1).
Tuukka Rask has been very average in his 8 games so far this season in the Boston net, with a GAA of 2.81 and a SP of just .899. Very sub-par stats for a guy entering an 8 year, $56M contract. He has a 5-2 career record against the Senators. He hasn't been confirmed as the goalie tonight, but odds are he will get the call.
The Senators have 9 goals in their last 2 games, although exciting to watch I still don't think you want them trading chances with a team as skilled as Boston. Clarke MacArthur has been on fire for Ottawa, with 3 goals and 4 points in his last two games. Mika Zibanejad had the game-tying goal for Ottawa against Chicago, his first point this season. Hopefully that gets him going and he can start contributing in his second line role, because for the Senators to succeed they need all 4 lines contributing at both ends of the ice.
The Bruins, like the Senators, have been allowing a lot of shots as of late. Five of their last 6 opponents have topped the 30 shot mark. The lone exception was their last game where the Sabres managed just 15, but that doesn't count because Buffalo is barely an NHL team.
The matchup of special teams is pretty even with the respective power plays being almost identical in terms of percentage (OTT - 20.5; BOS 20.6) and the Senators holding a slight 2% edge in penalty killing. Avoiding bad penalties would go a long way for the Senators' chances.
The teams split the season series in 2013-14, with each team taking 2 wins. It was a homer series, with Ottawa winning both of their games at CTC, while Boston dominated in Beantown, winning by scores of 5-0 and 7-2.
Predictions?