Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Divisional Round
The Ottawa Senators face the Pittsburgh Penguins with both teams looking to improve in the Eastern Conference. The Senators have a 20-21-3 record and have the second-worst record in the Atlantic Division while the Penguins have a 22-15-7 record and have only three wins in their last 10 games. The recent meeting between the two teams went into overtime and the upcoming game looks to be a great one as a result.
The Senators are having a rough season with their offense struggling, scoring only 2.95 goals per game. Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle, and Drake Batherson have scored 50 goals and 78 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has struggled. The hope is that Derick Brassard and Mathieu Joseph can step up as they play a pivotal role in the forward unit but only have eight goals and 12 assists on the season thus far.
The offense has struggled but the defense has let them down, allowing 3.25 goals per game with 13 goals in the last three games. Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson have combined for 4.4 defensive point shares but the rest of the unit has struggled, allowing opponents to find open shots on the net at will. In addition, goaltender Anton Forsberg has struggled with a .902 save percentage and a 3.25 goals-against average on 635 shots.