SENS’ LAST WIN IN RALEIGH CAME IN ‘HAMBURGLAR’ RUN
As far as the Ottawa Senators are concerned, the PNC in PNC Arena may as well stand for Positively No Chance.
The Carolina Hurricanes may not have made the playoffs since 2009, but they’ve been a powerhouse at home against the Senators over the years.
The Senators’ record over the past nine seasons in the not-sofriendly confines is 2-10-3.
The Senators have only one win here in the past six seasons, but it was a memorable one. Back on March 17, 2015, during the height of the Hamburglar run, Mark Stone scored in overtime to give the Senators a 2-1 win. With that win, Hammond extended his undefeated streak to start his career to 13 games (12-0-1.).
But the victory was a mere blip on the pattern.
“I don’t know the exact numbers, but the last time we won here, it broke a long streak,” Zack Smith said.
“Ever since I’ve been in the league, for some reason, it has been a tough building for us to play in. Hopefully, with the (all-star) break and different circumstances, that changes. It is strange. They’ve had a lot better teams lately, but even when, for a few years when they were struggling, it was hard to come in here and win.
“In terms of the answer, I would tell you and I would be sharing with the coach (if I did). I’m not sure why. They’ve just had our number in this building for a while.”
SPOILER ALERT
The Senators have little hope of making the post-season, but they can put a major dent into Carolina’s desperate quest for the playoffs. The Hurricanes have slipped to a 4-6-1 record in January, dropping four points out of a wild-card spot. If they’re going to make up ground, they’ve got to do it now. Tonight’s game kicks off an eight-game homestand.
FROM HAMBURGLAR TO BURGDOERFER
Defenceman Erik Burgdoerfer, recalled from Belleville on Monday, was part of the Senators’ top six at practice, but will likely only be in the Senators lineup tonight if coach Guy Boucher opts to dress seven defencemen.
Captain Erik Karlsson, who played at the All-Star Game on the weekend, made it to Carolina, but as is the case with all AllStars, had the option of skipping practice.
Burgdoerfer, not noted for his freewheeling style, had his Karlsson moment with Belleville on the weekend, splitting through the Syracuse defence for a power-play goal.
“I had a couple of buddies that I played with in the past, asking where that came from, because that’s not usually the kind of hockey I play,” he said with a laugh. “It was a power-play breakout and we had been going with (a drop pass) and they were kind of cheating towards it and I saw an opportunity to make something happen and I got a little lucky on the shot.”
SPEAKING OF THE SHUTTLE FROM BELLVILLE
Colin White, who joined Burgdoerfer and Chris DiDomenico in being recalled, can only hope he celebrates his 21st birthday today the way Hurricanes defenceman Noah Hanifin celebrated his last Thursday. Hanifin, who like White played at Boston College, registered three assists and was a career-high plus five in a 6-5 win over the Montreal Canadiens … Today is also Thomas Chabot’s 21st birthday.
OF NAMES AND NUMBERS
Magnus Paajarvi used to be known as Magnus PaajarviSvensson, but dropped the last name because it was too long to fit on the name bar on his sweater. Paajarvi is his mother’s maiden name. He wears the number 56 because it’s his father’s birth year …. The arrival of Paajarvi prompted a look back at the 2009 draft. Still a ways to go, but at this point, with a group that includes John Tavares, Victor Hedman, Matt Duchene, Evander Kane, Brayden Schenn, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Nazem Kadri and Ryan Ellis among the top dozen picks, it has the potential to go down as one of the best ever. When their careers are done, who will be better: John Tavares or Victor Hedman? ... The 2011 draft was largely forgettable for the Senators, who chose Jared Cowen ninth overall, but then there’s Scott Glennie, who was taken eighth overall by Dallas. At this point, Glennie has played one NHL game.
GREAT DAY ON THE LAKE
You can’t keep Matt Duchene off the ice. Just like during the Christmas break, Duchene brought his skates home to Haliburton, hoping to take a few twirls on the lake. “I was going to, but it got too warm and on the Saturday, there was about an inch of water on the lake,” he said. “But I did some ice fishing, though.” He didn’t fall through the ice, but did catch a threepound rainbow trout.