Game 65 Preview + Open Thread: Senators @ Canucks

Tonight we’ll see the Ottawa Senators take on the Vancouver Canucks in game three of their Western road trip. After a disappointing loss to the Blackhawks and a bounce back win against the Kraken, the Sens will be heading into Vancouver with the goal of another two points to keep them in the Wild Card race.

The Sens come into tonight with a 7-3-0 record in their last ten, with their 5-0 blowout loss to the Blackhawks being their only loss in their last six games. Needless to say, the Sens are hot. On the other side of the ice, however, is a club on their own streak as the Canucks have a 6-3-1 record in the same span, including a big win against the Toronto Maple Leafs last Saturday.

It was announced yesterday that the Sens would not be holding a morning skate today but this is how the team lined up at practice on Friday afternoon.

Sens practice lines from Vancouver.

Tkachuk Stützle Giroux
DeBrincat Pinto Batherson
Joseph Gambrell Brown
Brassard Kastelic Watson
Kelly XXXX Gauthier

Chabot Zub
Sanderson Hamonic
Chychrun Holden
Brannstrom XXXX

— TSN 1200 (@TSN1200) March 10, 2023

We know DJ Smith loves to keep things the same after a win, so I wouldn’t expect a different lineup than the one that took down the Kraken on Thursday when the puck drops tonight.

Game Notes:

• Tim Stützle will be looking to continue his incredible season tonight, as he’s coming into this one with four goals and four assists over his last five games.
• As with most matchups, the Sens have the special teams advantage with their 6th ranked powerplay and 5th ranked penalty kill. The Canucks do well enough on the powerplay but have the worst ranked penalty kill in the league. Vancouver will want to stay out of the box so they can avoid seeing Ottawa’s special teams group get to work.
• On the other side, all eyes will need to be on Quinn Hughes and Andrei Kuzmenko. Hughes has seven helpers in the last five games while Kuzmenko just hit the 30 goal mark in his first year in the NHL.
• While Jakob Chychrun appears to be lining up as a third pairing defenseman, and DJ Smith publicly stating he wants to ease him into the lineup before giving him top four responsibilities, the newly acquired rearguard has averaged 20 minutes per night, including over 21 minutes in his last two games. Regardless of who his partner is on paper, Chychrun is a top four defender on this team already and his two goals and two assists since joining the Sens four games ago has been a welcome addition./

Player Stats