Home advantage pays off for Senators

Just in case there was any confusion caused by incessant “Go Habs Go” chants and the presence of thousands of blue-blanc-rouge jerseys in the crowd, Saturday’s 4-3 overtime victory by the Ottawa Senators did come in a home game.

Combined with a 5-1 triumph against the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 13 and a 4-1 decision over the Dallas Stars last Monday, the Senators have their first three-game winning streak at Canadian Tire Centre since March 2-6, 2017.

It has already been a surprisingly successful homestand — it began with a 7-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers — but the Senators can really finish it off in style if they can beat the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.

For all that, Senators head coach Guy Boucher says he won’t use the winning streak as a motivational card.

“We never talk about stretches,” Boucher said. “It’s always about one game. We really stay away from lumping things together. If you lump things, then it’s heavy. You make them light.”

In Boston on Oct. 8, the Bruins embarrassed the Senators 6-3, with the big line of Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand combining for five goals and six assists.

“What we focus on against Boston is totally different from what we focused on against Montreal,” Boucher said. “And, if you think homestand, then you think we’re soon going on the road, which is lumping again. We don’t want that.”

After facing the Bruins, the Senators will embark on a three-game trip taking them to Matt Duchene’s old home in Colorado next Friday, Las Vegas on Oct. 28 and Phoenix on Oct. 30.