Game #11 Hub: Ottawa Senators vs Seattle Kraken

Among the last several years of disappointment for the Ottawa Senators, littered with some of the worst displays of the sport imaginable, there's nothing more frustrating than seeing the club dominate another team (and a good one, too!) only to fail to earn any points in the standings.

Outshooting the New York Rangers 41-18 is certainly a step in the right direction, especially since Igor Shesterkin is now holding up the Rags. I doubt they'll have much of a hockey team left once they've paid him what he's worth.

As for the Sens, can they repeat the effort today against the Seattle Kraken? Moral victories aside, they've lost 3 of the last 4 games, so they can't afford to take their foot off the gas.

We haven't had an official release from the team and there's no morning skate, but Garrioch is reporting that the lines are the same from last game, with the lone difference being Anton Forsberg getting the start after Linus Ullmark played yesterday.

Game Notes:

• The Kraken are 5-5-1, having most recently lost to the regular-season juggernauts (aka Maple Leafs) 4-1. They've allowed fewer goals per game and have a better penalty kill than Ottawa, but are edged out in pretty much every other metric, including shots and chances for and against, power-play, and goals for.
• With the continued absence of Shane Pinto, Adam Gaudette has been — I'd like to say — crucial to the team, but scoring twice against Vegas and once against the Rangers didn't amount to anything in the standings. That said, his success so far is great for his career. After leading the AHL in goals last year, he's on pace to not just earn a 1-way deal for next season, but maybe at a salary north of $2M.
• We'd seen good things from Tyler Kleven going into the season, but could he consistently hold his own over a full campaign? So far, the K-Train is right on track and is gaining steam with each game. The ~15 minutes a night he's receiving ensure he's not being overplayed, while still allowing him to improve.
• Forsberg's had a variety of performances, ranging from 2016 Matt Murray to 2021 Matt Murray, but his outing against the Devils a few weeks back is more or less what we can realistically expect from him on average. He'll let in the occasional soft goal, but is also capable of making some high-danger saves, and will give the team a good chance of winning if they can limit shots against and finish on their own chances.
• It's a 7:00 pm EST start tonight, and the game is available on Sportsnet One (which makes me even more happy to be seeing this one in person) and TSN 1200.

Stats:

• from NHL.com and NaturalStatTrick.com: