Desperate Senators hungry for playoff spot
SENATORS VS. CANADIENS Thursday at the Bell Centre, 7: 30 p. m., SNE, TSN5, RDS, TSN Radio 690
Scoring slump: In terms of goals scored, the Canadiens have ranked in the bottom third of the NHL all season. The Canadiens, who were given the day off on Wednesday, rank 22nd in the NHL, with an average of 2.58 goals a game, but the offence has hit a low in the last five games. The Canadiens are 1- 2- 2 in those games, have been shut out twice and have scored a total of six goals for an average of 1.2 per game. The good news is the Canadiens are still in first place in the Atlantic Di- vision, but with one month remaining in the regular season, it’s time to build momentum for the playoffs.
Price carries the load: Carey Price failed to pick up his 38th win in Tuesday ’s 1- 0 overtime loss to Tampa Bay, but he made 35 saves on a night when the Canadiens were outshot 36- 19 and managed only two shots in the third period. Price’s league- best goals- against average dropped to 1.87, while his save percentage is .937. He had a shutout in Arizona Saturday for the Canadiens’ only win in their current stretch and they needed a perfect game from Price because it was 1- 0 until Brendan Gallagher found the empty net.
Missed opportunities: The Senators are a desperate team as they try to catch the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Senators are 8- 1- 1 in their last 10 games, but a 3- 1 loss to the Bruins Tuesday night left them seven points behind Boston. The Senators nearly lost a valuable point on Sunday when they blew a
4- 0 lead before beating Calgary 5- 4 in a shootout.
No easy games: While the Senators are 20 points behind the Canadiens in the standings, they have a 2- 1 edge over Montreal in the season series with all the wins coming on home
ice. In their most recent encounter, the Senators were 4- 2 winners on Feb. 18 as goalie Andrew Hammond made 42 saves in his first NHL start. Hammond, whose nickname is The Hamburglar, has a 7- 0- 1 record, which raises the question: Why did interim coach Dave Cameron start Craig Anderson in the team’s last two games?
Injury update: Canadiens defenceman Alexei Emelin is still on the injured- reserve list with a shoulder injury, even though he has been cleared to play. He’ll watch this game from the press box, but should play on the Canadiens’ three- game road trip that begins Saturday in New York against the Islanders. P. A. Parenteau has recovered from a concussion, but doesn’t seem to figure in coach Michel Therrien’s immediate plans. Jared Cowen is day- to- day for the Senators with the flu. Ottawa’s long- term casualties are Zack Smith ( wrist), Chris Neil ( broken thumb), Chris Phillips ( undisclosed injury), Robin Lehner ( concussion) and Clarke MacArthur ( concussion).