The Ottawa Senators are finding themselves in the midst of a fairly successful start to the 2016/2017 campaign and, with their win over the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night, have moved into second place in the Atlantic division. Despite not getting very much offence from their top offensive threats, and having one of the worst power-plays in the league, the Sens are proving to be formidable competition; especially when they’re playing at home (despite the dreadful attendance numbers they’ve had this season).
Ottawa Senators: 3 keys to victory
To continue with their winning ways, here are Ottawa’s keys to victory against the Minnesota Wild:
Put pucks on net
While Friday night’s last-second heroics were certainly exciting, and will hopefully help to get the monkey off Mark Stone’s back, I’m sure most fans and management would have been just as content if the game had been put away much earlier. Unfortunately, Ottawa has had a serious issue this season with putting the puck in the net; the last time the Sens scored more than 2 goals was on Oct. 25th versus the Vancouver Canucks. Fortunately, Darcy Kuemper will most likely be getting the start this afternoon for the Wild, as Devan Dubnyk played last night versus Philadelphia.While Minnesota currently has one of the best team goal-differentials in the league (Minnesota is at +12; Ottawa’s is currently +1), Kuemper’s numbers so far this season have been less than stellar. Through two games played, he has a GAA of 4.00 and a save% of just .870.
This is a fantastic opportunity for Ottawa’s slumping scorers to get back on the horse, as well as hopefully improve their powerplay numbers. The Sens currently sit 28th in the league in the league in that category.
Continued fantastic goaltending
The current tandem of Craig Anderson and Mike Condon have been playing absolutely fantastic hockey as of late for the Ottawa Senators. Both having a GAA below 2.20 and a save% above .930. They are a huge reason why Ottawa is doing so well in the standings right now. Anderson is starting the game tonight versus the Wild, and there is no indication that he will not turn in another solid performance.
Minnesota is currently sitting second-last in the league for shots-per-game, sitting at 28; that workload should seem light for Anderson, who hasn’t faced less than 30 shots in a game since his Oct. 25th shutout victory versus the Vancouver Canucks. Despite the adversity that he and his family are facing, he has been tremendous.
Play a full 60 minutes
Ottawa did a fantastic job against the Kings by bouncing back after a very sluggish first period. While they were lucky to only be down by one goal, they managed to turn it around after the first and put consistent pressure on Kings’ goalie Jeff Zatkoff. They put even more on Peter Budaj when he came in to relieve Zatkoff after an apparent injury.
The Sens directed only eight shots the Kings’ way in the first period, but ramped that up to 15 in the third period, and applied some serious pressure in the Kings zone in the latter part of the game; even after they tied the game. It would seem that Guy Boucher wasn’t interested in heading for another game decided by extra time.
If Ottawa is going to be successful against the Wild today, they need to try to keep up that same up-tempo pressure in the offensive zone throughout the game. Ottawa was coming off a road-trip before the Friday night game, tonight there is no excuse for a slow start today against the Wild. Minnesota will be hungry to get back in the win column after blowing two leads in their game last night against the Flyers; the Sens would be wise to try and match that hunger right from the first drop of the puck.
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