Considering the depth to which they had sunk in their 7-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday, Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals was like redemption for the Ottawa Senators — without the salvation of anything tangible to show for their effort, however.
Alex Auld will be in net and coach Paul MacLean will go with six defencemen as the Ottawa Senators face the Washington Capitals here at the Verizon Centre. Brian Lee will come out of the lineup and Zenon Konopka will go back in as the centre of the fourth line between Zack Smith and Erik Condra.
The Ottawa Senators travel to Washington to take on Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals. Which team will come out on top? Our prediction panel weighs in.
An hour before they went out to practice on Friday, the Ottawa Senators watched a horror movie: the unexpurgated highlights of their 7-1 loss to the Colorado Avalance.
OK, so you were warned about the “roller coaster” this Senators season was going to be. You just forgot the sensations of that gut-wrenching, adolescent ride, the serene highs (hello, Minnesota Wild), cruising gently to the peak with its supreme views, tranquil at the crest — then whooosh! Down you plunge, your stomach ripped out of its lining before settling somewhere deep in the back of the throat.
The Ottawa Senators will give goalie Alex Auld his first start of the season Saturday against the Washington Capitals. Starter Craig Anderson has been bombarded with pucks this season, averaging more than 32 shots against per game over four starts. He hasn’t been able to stanch the flow of rubber into Ottawa’s net, posting a .853 save percentage and 4.37 goals against average thus far.
Citizen hockey writers James Gordon and Wayne Scanlan discuss the Ottawa Senators’ bumpy start to the season.