After a successful homestand the Senators are back on the road for their second meeting with the Washington Capitals this season. Coming off back-to-back wins at home and riding a four-game point streak, the Sens will look to continue that pace against the Capitals.
The Senators are 10-3-3 in their last 16 games, one of the best records in the NHL. With a lot of ground to make up to chase down a wild card spot (16 points with five games in hand on the Lightning to be exact), this play couldn't be coming at a better time. Key to their recent success has been the individual success of a couple of their young core who have had trying seasons. Josh Norris went 20 games with just a single goal before scoring three in the Senators last two and playing a more complete all around game. Alongside him Thomas Chabot is riding a three-game goal streak, with five points in that stretch and is looking like the Chabot we've come to know.
Structurally the Senators have been much more sound and it shows, only giving up more than three goals on two occasions in their last 16 games. While the goaltending as a whole has been much improved, it's hard to ignore the body of work Anton Forsberg has shown since returning from injury boasting a 0.917% save percentage and only giving up 2.25 goals per game (only Connor Hellebuyck, David Rittich, and Antony Stolarz have a lower GAA on the season.
Over that same stretch the Sens have been averaging 3.44 goals per game which right now would rank seventh in the entire NHL. Led by Tim Stützle, Claude Giroux and Brady Tkachuk with 53, 52, and 47 points respectively, be on the lookout for this hot pace to continue tonight.
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Washington enters this contest on the cusp of a wild card playoff spot sitting just eight points behind Tampa Bay with four games in hand. Effectively win and your in mentality. After a bit of a tough stretch that saw them earn a 4-3-3 record over their last ten they have found success recently, also riding a four-game point streak with three wins in that stretch.
After a bit of a slow start to the season where pundits questioned if he had lost a step and whether he would be able to chase down Gretzky's all-time goal record, Alexander Ovechkin has hit his stride lately. Ovechkin has 14 points in his last 11 games with eight goals including a six-game goal streak mixed in. With all that he has propelled himself into a tie for the team points leader alongside Dylan Strome who appears to be in the midst of his second straight career setting season with 21 goals and 21 assists for 42 points through 56 games on pace for career high of 31 goals.
