Game Day 5: OTT at COL

The set up:

Last week the Senators took off on what was to be a challenging road trip, facing five potential playoff teams, including three of the last five Stanley Cup winners. Well here we are nine days later and the Senators are looking to finish that road trip on a high note after falling in the first four.

This will be the Senators second game under Jacques Martin, and now they have had a full practice under their belt they will look to inject some of the djustments to their systems into play tonight. With their new systems being introduced look for the Sens leaders to establish what that could look like for the team. The Sens carry five skaters into tonight with 20+ points led by Tim Stützle with 30, Claude Giroux with 25 and Drake Batherson with 23. Look for them to tighten up on the back end and try to strike early tonight.

Colorado comes into tonight sitting atop the Central division with 36 points, however they have looked a little more mortal of late having gone 5-5-0 in their last ten games. They boast the third best offence in the league led by Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantenen, and Cale Makar with 48, 40, and 37 points this season, however they may still be without Makar tonight who as he recovers from a lower body injury.

Roster report:

The Senators announced that they have re-assigned Jacob Larsson to Belleville. With only an optional skate this morning, below is how the team lined up at last game against the Coyotes:

Who to watch:

Last season we only got to see Josh Norris skate in eight games as he battled a shoulder injury. Well back healthy this year, the former 35-goal scorer seems to be finding his stride here of late. 

With goals in three straight games, and five in his last seven, Norris is showing what makes him such a threat in the attacking zone. On the season he has totalled ten goals and seven assists for 17 points, putting him on pace for 33 goals and 56 points this season. More importantly than the goals themselves however is where and when he seems to be scoring them. The Senators have had struggles on the power play of late, and nearly half of Norris' goals have come on the man advantage, including his last two.

Look for Norris to continue his elite goal scoring ways here as the Sens try to uplift their power play.

Becoming a presure team: Jacques Martin has made it clear that he believes this team will be at their best when they are aggressive. Martin felt that the team has been too passive in the neutral zone and with the changes he is trying to implement that they can be more aggressive. 

"We can't sit back. We've got to dictate the tempo of the game." - Jacques Martin

Martin doesn't want the team playing on their heels, not sitting back in a 1-2-2, and begin reading and reacting to situations as they're dealt. The Senators will have to make a conscious effort to hold onto the puck and keep it in the offensive zone as much as possible. While this is surely the end goal Martin knows that making this adjustment is a process and that the focus should be on that process. Tonight acts as a jumping off point to build that trust in each other as the group learns to instill some of these adjustments.

Where to watch:

Tonight's game can be found live on TSN5 and RDSI in English and French respectively. Additionally, TSN1200 and Unique FM 94,5 have you covered on the radio with the English and French calls.