|
|
OTTAWA SENATORS SUNDAY, APRIL 6 5:00 P.M. CANADITAN TIRE CENTRE OTTAWA, ON, CAN |
|
SENS: |
@ 
The playoff hopes of the Columbus Blue Jackets took a beating Saturday.
As the final horn sounded on the Blue Jackets 5-0 loss in Toronto against the Maple Leafs, the Montreal Canadiens were wrapping up a win on home ice over the Philadelphia Flyers. The combination of events put Columbus six points behind a potential wild card spot.
Now, with just six games left in the season, the Blue Jackets are in must-win mode to even have a chance at a highly improbable playoff spot.
The winning can start Sunday, when the Blue Jackets are in Ottawa to begin a home-and-home with the Senators.
With Elvis Merzlikins between the pipes last night, expect Daniil Tarasov to get the start in net. Tarasov made a brief relief appearance Thursday, stopping all four shots he faced in the final 14 minutes of a 7-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. In his last five starts (dating back to Jan. 31), Tarasov has allowed three goals or less.
Here's what else to know before the Blue Jackets and Senators play for the first of two times in three nights:
| CBJ | SEASON STATS | OTT | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12-22-4 | ROAD / HOME | 24-13-1 | ||
| 10th | 3.19 | GOALS FOR | 2.86 | 20th |
| 28th | 3.43 | GOALS AGAINST | 2.80 | 11th |
| t-22nd | 18.9% | POWER PLAY | 23.4% | 12th |
| t-25th | 75.6% | PENALTY KILL | 77.9% | 17th |
| SENATORS: LAST THREE GAMES | ||||
| TUE, 4/1 | vs. Sabres | L, 5-2 | ||
| THU, 4/3 | vs. Lightning | W, 2-1 | ||
| SAT, 4/5 | vs. Panthers | W, 3-0 | ||
| SENATORS: TEAM LEADERS | ||||
| GOALS | Brady Tkachuk | 29 | ||
| ASSISTS | Tim Stutzle | 51 | ||
| POINTS | Tim Stutzle | 72 | ||
| ODDS & PROJECTIONS | ||||
| CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK: | 37% | |||
| CBJ ODDS PER ESPN: | +140 | |||
-
RE: SENS
Like Columbus, the Senators are also playing the second half of a back-to-back. But unlike Columbus, no travel was required for Ottawa: they defeated the Florida Panthers 3-0 Saturday. ... Ottawa has all but wrapped up a playoff spot, and even have an outside chance of catching the Florida Panthers for third in the Atlantic Division as they sit just four points behind them with both teams having six games remaining. ... After a 40-save shutout from goalie Anton Forsberg in the win over Florida, the Senators will likely turn to Linus Ullmark on Sunday. He's 22-14-3, has a .908 save percentage, and a 2.75 goals against average this season.
-
SINCE THE STADIUM SERIES...
...the Blue Jackets are 4-10-1 and have been outscored 62-40 (an average of 4.13 to 2.66). Bad breaks and bad luck is a part of that, certainly. But Columbus has given up the first goal in all but one of those 15 games and over the last five weeks it's seemed like when they fall behind early, especially on the road, that's it: they're 1-15-0 on the road when down after the first period for the season.
-
JOHNSON ON THE TOP LINE
Kent Johnson was elevated to the first line to play alongside Sean Monahan and Kirill Marchenko in Saturday night's loss. Johnson didn't register a shot on goal and the trio had an expected goal number pf 0.26 in 12:34 together. They deserved a better fate and may get another chance Sunday.
-
LINEUPS CHANGES & PROJECTIONS:
No official announcements will be made until head coach Dean Evason's afternoon media availability. Based on Saturday, here are the projected lines:
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91 | Kent Johnson | 23 | Sean Monahan | 86 | Kirill Marchenko |
| 38 | Boone Jenner | 19 | Adam Fantilli | 21 | James van Riemsdyk |
| 10 | Dmitri Voronkov | 34 | Cole Sillinger | 24 | Mathieu Olivier |
| 27 | Zach Aston-Reese | 7 | Sean Kuraly | 17 | Justin Danforth |
| LD | RD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Zach Werenski | 15 | Dante Fabbro |
| 5 | Denton Mateychuk | 9 | Ivan Provorov |
| 3 | Jack Johnson | 44 | Erik Gudbranson |
| Starting Goalie | Back-Up | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Daniil Tarasov | 90 | Elvis Merzlikins |
