Game 36 Preview + Open Thread: Buffalo Sabres @ Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators are currently on a run of relatively strong play, with 8 wins in their last 15 games. In that stretch, they’ve frustrated the Carolina Hurricanes, shut out the back-to-back champs, the Tampa Bay Lightning, embarrassed the Florida Pathers by an 8-2 score, and landed the Edmonton Oilers on rock bottom.

It’s loads of fun to knock down the league’s top teams (or mediocre teams with top talent in Edmonton’s case), but the opposite is true when the weaker clubs roll into town and come away with two points that your team should’ve had.

Case in point, the Buffalo Sabres. A 3-1 loss a week ago was frustrating enough, but the way in which it happened was especially painful. Tonight, the Senators look to build on Sunday’s 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets and get their revenge. If Buffalo’s going to lean on their goaltender to carry them to victory again, can it at least be Craig Anderson this time?

"We have to make sure there's no let down coming home."

Pre-game comments from head coach D.J. Smith as the #Sens host Buffalo tonight. #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/nBiz84pEUB

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) January 25, 2022

"It's a huge opportunity every time I get called up."

More from Lassi Thomson ⬇️ #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/3cckS3Kzzd

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) January 25, 2022

Game Notes:

• Ottawa will be without Jacob Bernard-Docker, reassigned to Belleville yesterday, as well as Erik Brännström (Covid protocol), who’s quickly becoming the team’s unluckiest player. Lassi Thomson has been recalled and will likely play tonight.
• The Sabres, coming off of a 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers (a microcosm of the Rasmus Ristolainen trade), have had some unexpected offensive contribution from their roster this season, especially from Jeff Skinner and Kyle Okposo, widely regarded as being on two of the worst contracts in the entire league. It goes to show that even if a player is past their prime, one or two seasons of poor play don’t necessarily mean they’re “done”.
• Their leading scorer has also been a surprise — Tage Thompson, the centrepiece of the Ryan O’Reilly trade a few years back, has doubled his production from last season with 28 points in 38 games and is playing like a top-six forward for the first time in his career.
• It’s a 7:00 pm puck drop tonight, and you can catch the game live on RDS, TSN5, and TSN 1200./

Stats:

Team Stats

Player Stats