Game 6 preview: Nashville Predators @ Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators will start a sequence of four consecutive games at home starting with the Nashville Predators tonight. On Thursday, Ottawa was shutout 2-0 against Pittsburgh, the first time the Senators have been shutout since December 2013. The Predators started the season with three straight wins but suffered its first loss of the season to the Islanders on Thursday.

With Clarke MacArthur still injured, the Senators will return with the same lineup. Here are the lines for the Senators.

Hoffman - Turris - Stone
Michalek - Zibanejad - Ryan
Chiasson - Pageau - Lazar
Prince - Smith - Neil

Methot - Karlsson
Wiercioch - Ceci
Cowen - Borowiecki

Anderson (starter)
Hammond

Some notes for tonight:

• Ottawa has been outshot by a combined 58 shots in the first five games. Aside from the defensive issues ranking them dead last in the NHL in shots allowed per game, the Senators have had shots 22 shots or less in three of the five games,
• Zack Smith has had a largely invisible season so far. Can anyone recall a single thing that he has done? A nice pass? A bad mistake? Anything?
• I don't know about the strategy of putting Jared Cowen and Mark Borowiecki on the ice for defensive zone face-offs. If there is one pairing that would struggle to exit the defensive zone, it is those guys. I guess those two are not particularly good at anything, but it would probably be best to shelter them if they have to play. On the other hand, when you are constantly being outshot, there are probably not many opportunities to shelter.
• I don't think Shane Prince being on the fourth line is particularly egregious once you get past the fact that Chris Neil and Zack Smith are playing at all. Is there any evidence that Prince is far better than any of the other wingers?
• Milan Michalek has had a pretty decent start to the season. His speed looks like it is mostly back...for now.
• Erik Karlsson had games of 0 points, 3 points, 0 points, 4 points and 0 points. So it should be a five point night tonight.
• Did you guys know that Shea Weber has never won the Norris Trophy?/