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Damjan Peric The Hockey Writers

Published on Tuesday, February 7, 2017

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Preview: Senators Begin 4-Game Homestand Against Blues

The Ottawa Senators will welcome the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night at Canadian Tire Centre. It’s Hockey Talks/DIFD Awareness Night in Ottawa in support of The Youth Services Bureau to raise mental health awareness. You can support this initiative by texting DIFD to 45678 to donate $5.

The Blues come in struggling as of late with a 4-6-0 record in their last ten games. They are 2-1 under head coach Mike Yeo after firing Ken Hitchcock on February 1. The move came as a surprise since it was already announced that Yeo would replace Hitchcock after this season. The Blues are playing the Senators in the second game of a back-to-back after shutting out the Philadelphia Flyers 2-0 on Monday night.

The Senators are coming off a 4-0 loss at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. Former Senator Robin Lehner made 37 saves to shutout his former team. Ottawa is looking to get back to winning after a 1-2-1 speed wobble over the last four games. On a positive note, starting netminder Craig Anderson, who hasn’t played in two months to be with his ill wife, has begun practicing with the team again. They have yet to announce when he will make his next start.

This will be the second and last game of the season series between these two clubs. Their first meeting was a high scoring affair at Scottrade Center where the Senators came out with a 6-4 victory.

Ottawa Senators vs. St. Louis Blues

Canadian Tire Centre – 7:30 p.m. EST

Broadcast Channels – RDS2, TSN5, FS-MW

2016-17 Season Series: January 17 – Senators 6 – Blues 4

Ottawa Senators – 27-17-6 – 60 points

Home record: 14-7-6 

Hot players: Erik Karlsson, Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman, Kyle Turris

Key absences: Craig Anderson (personal leave), Clarke MacArthur (concussion)

Projected lines: 

Forwards:

Zack Smith – Derek Brassard – Mark Stone

Ryan Dzingel – Kyle Turris – Bobby Ryan

Mike Hoffman – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Tom Pyatt

Chris Kelly – Tommy Wingels – Chris Neil

Defence:

Marc Methot – Erik Karlsson

Dion Phaneuf – Cody Ceci

Mark Borowiecki – Chris Wideman

Goaltenders:

Andrew Hammond

Mike Condon

St. Louis Blues – 26-22-5 – 57 points – second Wild Card position

Road record: 9-13-1

Hot players: Paul Stastny, Alex Petriangelo, Vladamir Tarasenko

Key Absences: Kyle Brodziak (foot), Robby Fabbri (ACL)

Projected lines: 

Forwards:

Alexander Steen – Paul Stastny – Vladimir Tarasenko

Kenny Agostino – Jori Lehtera – David Perron

Jaden Schwartz – Patrik Berglund – Dmitrij Jaskin

Scottie Upshall – Ivan Barbashev – Ryan Reaves

Defence:

Jay Bouwmeester – Alex Pietrangelo

Carl Gunnarsson – Kevin Shattenkirk

Joel Edmundson – Colton Parayko

Goaltenders:

Jake Allen

Carter Hutton

Game Notes

1) The St. Louis Blues will be a tired bunch as they prepare for the Senators. They played on Monday night in Philadelphia before taking a late flight to Ottawa to play again on Tuesday.

Andrew Hammond will get the start. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

2) The Blues’ starting goalie is a toss-up. After Carter Hutton posted a shutout against the Flyers, the Blues could go with the hot hand or may turn to the rested Jake Allen. The Senators will start Andrew Hammond for the first time in 2017 after Mike Condon made 27 straight starts.

3) The Ottawa Senators need to use their fresh legs for a strong start to push a tired Blues team. The Blues will need to play a smart game and stick to their structure on the tail end of a back-to-back, especially with key contributor Fabbri out for the season.

Chris Neil will bring his physicality against the Blues. (Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports)

4) After being a healthy scratch for two games in a row, look for Chris Neil to be back in the lineup for the Senators. Neil and Curtis Lazar have been regular healthy scratches since Tommy Wingels joined the team.

5) Blues’ F Kenny Agostino played his first game of the season, and first as a Blue, in Monday’s 2-0 win against the Flyers. He made an immediate impact by scoring just the second goal of his young NHL career. Agostino had one goal and four shots in just over 14 minutes played against the Flyers.


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