Game 44 Hub: Ottawa Senators vs Boston Bruins

How quickly things change. Sure, the Ottawa Senators still don't have much chance at any successful season at this point. However, with the way they've been playing over the last 5 games, I may start watching them again.

The Boston Bruins are still scary, leading the East with a 29-9-9 record but the circumstances are as in favour of the Sens as they can be with a matchup like this.

First, it's not a road game, in which they typically suck.

Second, the Bruins played last night at home, against the Carolina Hurricanes, a team that's notorious for hemming even the toughest teams in their zone for 80 minutes a game.

Third, – nope, never mind, I've only got the two.

Here are the projected lines, with Joonas Korpisalo likely starting in goal:

Game Notes:

• There's been some strong progression over the last 4 games for both Korpisalo and the team's defence—a 3-0-1 record with an average of 24 shots against. It's clear that both are contributing equally, with fewer defensive breakdowns combined with Korpisalo making saves he wasn't making previously. Even when he had a tough night against San Jose, the Sens allowed a mere 18 shots to compensate.
• Since returning to the lineup, Shane Pinto has a goal and an assist, helping his team win the last 2 games. There's no excuse for how the team played in his absence, but it's nevertheless a big boost to the forward corps. He's good in the faceoff dot, plays a solid two-way game, has a much easier role than he did last season, and pushes the struggling Dominik Kubalik out of the Top-9.
• Boston predictably slaps Ottawa in most categories, but a surprising fact is that the Sens actually come out on top in terms of shots for and against per game, as well as 5-on-5 score-and-venue-adjusted Corsi For%
• It's a 7:00 PM EST start tonight, and the game is available on RDS2, TSN5, and TSN 1200.

Stats: