The St. Louis Blues are back on the ice to the second of the five-game road trip on Thursday night at Ottawa. They had a day or two off to enjoy their 3-2 win. After tonight, they will make the short trip to Montreal for a date using the Canadiens.
The road trip will soon wrap up from New York against the Islanders the Islanders two weeks later. They wont play back in St. Louis till next Thursday night against the Canucks. Their street trip feels a good deal longer, as it will have been 12 times in between their final game at home, which had been their season opener.
The Blues are ideal with wins of 3-2 from the Stars and Maple Leafs thus far, on the street trip. Tonight will mark only the third game of this year for the Senators. The year started with a 5-3 loss against the Maple Leafs in Toronto, and then dropped a 4-1 decision against the Rangers this Saturday.
Two matches into the season and the Senators have had a long break. After getting the season underway, as a player, I would like that. I and I think most people would agree, once the legs begin to get tired and tired that it would be more valuable later in the season. The Senators likely do not have to be concerned about a late playoff drive, therefore it is a moot point.
In any case, the Senators ought to be feeling extra fresh for their matchup from the Blues tonight. They have had plenty of time to get ready for the Blues. There arent likely to be any excuses for coming out level, but this really is actually the defending Stanley Cup Champions we are currently talking about.
St. Louis have made a point in each of three games theyve played, with their season opener against the Capitals the only loss so far. They will look to avoid an upset from the Sens tonight. Head under for our free Blues vs. Senators select.
Despite the layoff, the Senators are going to give Craig Anderson the night off and visit the backup. Anderson is off to a shaky start to this summer, as hes posted a 4.58 GAA and 0.875 save percentage on 72 shots. He might be a giant scapegoat for your team in 2019-20. There are many goaltenders in the NHL who would find success. At some stage the defence must assist outside the netminder and there isnt a lot of it available in Ottawa.
The Senators finished defensively a season ago. They allowed an average of 3.67 goals per match, which had been mostly because of a bad blue line. The goaltending all you need, but the Senators were also last in shots allowed per game. They had to deal with an average of 35.7 shots each game plus a plethora of scoring chances before the internet.
The year it has been the exact same for the Sens to start. Ottawa have enabled 4.5 goals and 36 shots per game, therefore it is right back to that which they had been accustomed to a season ago. With no Erik Karlsson in the line, the Senators have appeared dropped and there are no indications it is going to get better to them.
This doesnt bode well against Jordan Binnington along with the Blues defence. Expect the Blues to be able to get their offence tonight, then forcing the Senators to do something at the zone. The Senators acquired Nilsson from the Canucks last season, and all things considered, he played decently enough with a 2.90 GAA and also 0.914 save percent. Combined with the Canucks, Nilsson finished with a 2.97 GAA on this season.
They are going to require a standout performance to have a shot at the front tonight. Nilsson might have a fine game, but fine will probably still result in a 3-1 or 4-1 reduction for the Senators. The Sens are coming to this contest fresh off a break that is great. But, it wont matter ultimately with all the Blues in the city. Thinking about +125s price, the Blues are take a watch in the puckline here.
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