It’s been a confusing and frustrating week for Senators fans after more games were postponed and the World Junior Hockey Championship was cancelled, but tonight the Sens are back in session.
We have another edition of the Battle of Ontario between the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s the first Sens game since December 18th, when they lost 4-3 in overtime to the Philadelphia Flyers. If you haven’t been keeping track of the latest Sens news, here’s a quick update on injured players and who’s in the NHL’s Covid-19 protocol:
The Senators currently have 5 injured players:
Crookshank-knee, White-Shoulder, Pinto-Shoulder, JBrown-thumb, Zaitsev-heel.4 players in Covid protocol: Norris, Ennis, Paul, Heatherington.
1 player to be verified:
JBD.— TSN 1200 (@TSN1200) January 1, 2022
With Josh Norris in the league’s protocol, Tim Stutzle will move into the 1C role between Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson. Anton Forsberg’s been the starting goaltender for most of December, but after being placed in Covid protocol on Dec. 27th, Matt Murray will be in goal for the Senators.
Murray was sent to Belleville back on November 27th, after starting the season 0-5. He played a pair of games for the B-Sens, going 1-1 with a 2.55 goals-against average and .918 save percentage before getting injured. Ottawa recalled him from Belleville on December 28th, so he’ll be looking for his first win of the season and the first Sens victory of 2022.
Filip Gustavsson will back him up after being removed from the league’s Covid protocol on the 29th of December. After breaking his hand in early November, Erik Brannstrom returns to the lineup; he’ll be paired with Lassi Thomson.
It’s the first game for the Leafs since they beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 on December 14th. Ottawa and Toronto have played twice already this season, splitting the games. The Sens won their season opener 3-2 on October 14th, then two days later, the Leafs would win 3-1. It’s a 7 pm puck drop tonight from the Scotiabank Arena!
Also, a quick note, the next Sens home game was scheduled for Monday, but that has since changed.
With this game being postponed, Ottawa’s next home game is currently scheduled for January 19th against the Buffalo Sabres. After tonight’s matchup with the Leafs, Ottawa will begin a 5 game road trip beginning January 6th vs Seattle.
By Steve Bunda
