Game 9 Hub: Ottawa Senators @ Edmonton Oilers

By now most Sens are no longer frustrated at the losses, it’s just the way of Sens life. After having another tough series against the Vancouver Canucks, the Sens move on to another beast, lead by none other than Connor McDavid. The Edmonton Oilers will be an interesting test for the Sens, they are consistently better than both the Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks and may prove to be a bit too much for the Sens to handle. That being said, stranger things have happened and maybe the Sens will feed off the challenge and surprise us all?

The Sens have had an abysmal power play which is something that could have saved them in the past few games. At some point DJ Smith will need to stop employing the drop pass as a strategy and focus on a proper setup. The Sens are 28th in the league with a PP% of 11.8% and it’s safe to say newly acquired Evgenii Dadonov doesn’t seem to have found his PP groove with his new team.

There are a few lineup changes for tonight’s game but the scariest one of them all will be the absence of Thomas Chabot:

Game Notes:

• Fans have been raving about Artem Zub for some while now and while seeing him comes at the expense of missing out on Thomas Chabot, it will be interesting to see if he makes a lasting impression on the coaching staff.
• The Sens are last in the league in goals against per game at a whooping 4.5 goals against and while the goalies have played a large part in this, the defence is the main culprit. Without Chabot, it will be interesting to see how the defense manages against the never ending sources of threats from the Oilers tonight.
• If Thomas Chabot is out for a longer period of time, would it trigger Pierre Dorion to make a panic trade or will he rely on our young prospects waiting for the chance? Hello Erik Brännström?
• All eyes are on Connor McDavid and deservingly so but for Tim Stützle, he’s more excited to play the other lethal weapon on the Oilers, Leon Draisaitl. Draisaitl really put a mark on what German hockey can produce and maybe can be a bit of an inspiration for Stützle tonight.
• The Edmonton Oilers are playing the second of a back to back which may give the Sens a slight advantage unless the Oilers decide to feed off their OT win against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
• Can Drake Batherson get a goal tonight?
• Puck drop is 9 pm EST tonight, and you can catch the game on TSN5 or on TSN1200 radio./