Grace Under Pressure: Blues at Ottawa Senators Preview

The Ottawa Senators have changed faces over the years. The familiar ones, like Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza are gone. Now we see Bobby Ryan as their centerpiece (centrepiece?), and youngsters like Erik Karlsson and Kyle Turris in the limelight. Clarke MacArthur leads the team with 14 points.

Projected to be a bubble team at the beginning of the year, they currently reside in 5th place in the Atlantic Division. Their record 9-5-4 record is about what you'd expect from this team. They are coming off of a 3-2 win over Nashville on Thursday, and have put up a 5-1-3 home record. Nobody is expecting much out of the Sens this year, but they have plenty of young talent, and can take advantage if you give them an opening. The Blues have opened the road trip with two straight losses. I don't think there's a major fix that's needed , but rather small cracks in our game that can be exploited by good teams. Unfortunately, Boston and Montreal are both very good teams. The Senators provide the Blues an opportunity to address those small cracks. If the Blues attack them with a working man attitude, they'll get them fixed.

We're expecting Brian Elliott in goal tonight for the Blues, and Ottawa will be starting Robin Lehner in the net. Brian Elliott was drafted by the Sens back in 2003 (9th round, which doesn't even exist anymore), and Ells was huge in their 2009-2010 season. He carried the team to the playoffs that year. Sometimes, goalies get a little extra boost from playing their old team ... let's see if it happens tonight.

You might remember when T.J. Oshie scored the stealth goal. He made time stand still until they acknowledged his goal. That was at home against these Senators. If we stand a ghost of a chance at breaking even on this road trip, our other goal scorers need to come alive. Let's just hope that the refs see it when they do score.

Further Reading:

Silver Seven

Blues vs Senators coverage

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Final Verse: A matinee today, as the puck drops at 2:00 PM St Louis time. The GDT should drop shortly beforehand. At least this is a friendlier start time for our European friends.The TV broadcast is on Fox Sports Midwest, or if you prefer the spirit of radio, that would be KMOX 1120.

LGB!!!