Game 37: Senators @ Capitals

The Senators look to start 2017 on a positive note as they head to Washington to face Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals. Today's game is actually the first of two games against the Caps in a week; the two squads will face off again next Saturday.

Ottawa will once again be without the injured Zack Smith. Casey Bailey again draws in. Here are the expected lines and pairings:

Dzingel - Turris - Ryan
Hoffman- Brassard - Stone
Kelly - Pageau - Pyatt
Bailey - Lazar - Neil

Methot - Karlsson
Phaneuf - Ceci
Borowiecki - Wideman

Condon (starter)
O'Connor

Some notes for tonight:

• The Sens start the new year locked into a play-off spot but the month ahead will go a long way to determining their fate; the schedule will be challenging.
• After a hot start to his time in Ottawa, Mike Condon has come back to earth a bit in recent weeks. The Sens will need the goalie to be at his best tonight.
• Alex Ovechkin's goal total is down a bit, but he's still putting a tonne of pucks on net: he's on pace for over 300 shots on the year.
• Columbus' incredible run has somewhat overshadowed another great year for the Capital: Washington is a top 5 team by most shot metrics and are on pace for over 100 points for the campaign. They've (kind of quietly) been really, really good.

Here are some stats for the two teams tonight. All stats are from NHL.com except Corsi and Fenwick are from Corsica.