When:7:30 PM ET, Thursday, October 19, 2017
Where:Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
Preview: Devils at Senators
Gracenote
Oct 19, 2017
The Ottawa Senators have earned points in all but one game, but they still are in search of their first home victory as they prepare to host the surprising New Jersey Devils on Thursday. The Senators are 3-0-0 on the road but fell to 0-1-2 at the Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday after being shut out 3-0 by Vancouver.
Ottawa was blanked in a rematch with the Canucks after completing a perfect three-game road trip during which it erupted for 12 goals in victories over Calgary and Edmonton. Captain Erik Karlsson, sidelined for the first five games after undergoing offseason foot surgery, had his season debut spoiled by the Senators' latest setback but reported no ill effects. New Jersey recorded the fewest points in the Eastern Conference last season but is off to an impressive start with five wins in its first six games. “There’s no real reason to harp on the last couple of seasons,” Devils forward Kyle Palmieri, whose shootout goal was the difference in Tuesday's 5-4 win over red-hot Tampa Bay, told reporters. "If you look back at last year, obviously it was a disappointment, but we’ve turned the page. We’re off to a good start and hopefully we can continue to play this good hockey.”
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New Jersey), TSN5, RDS (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE DEVILS (5-1-0): Veteran forward Drew Stafford, who was limited to eight goals while splitting last season between Winnipeg and Boston, already has recorded three in as many games and scored twice on Tuesday while playing on a line with rookie Nico Hischier. The No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft, Hischier collected a pair of assists against Tampa Bay but remains in search of his first goal. "Nico, he's due, he's well overdue, he could easily have six or seven right now," Stafford told reporters. "Sooner or later the dam will break and he'll start popping. He's been very impressive to me so far."
ABOUT THE SENATORS (3-1-2): Karlsson, who topped Ottawa in scoring last season and was magnificent in the playoffs, was not eased back into the lineup as he led all defensemen in ice time (22 minutes, 25 seconds) on Tuesday. "A little rusty, but overall OK," Karlsson told reporters. "I think we played a well-enough game for me to get back into the groove of things. I still need to fine-tune a few things and it's going to take some time, but overall, I felt pretty decent." Defenseman Mark Borowiecki (upper body) has been ruled out for Thursday's contest.
OVERTIME
1. The Senators were the last team to yield a power-play goal but are 15-for-16 on the penalty kill.
2. New Jersey is 8-for-26 on the power play but has surrendered seven man-advantage goals in its last five contests.
3. Senators C Kyle Turris has a 61.5 percent success rate on faceoffs after winning 11-of-13 draws on Tuesday.
PREDICTION: Senators 3, Devils 2