Hurricanes Look to Rebound in Ottawa
By Glenn Brewer
The wait is over as the Carolina Hurricanes hit the ice again this evening for another contest in the Canadian capital, Ottawa. The Senators will be hosting the Canes as Carolina looks to break a string of poor results.
The Canes received some bad news today as they will be without star forward, Andrei Svechnikov, for the near future. A loss all too familiar to the Canes, it is not likely to see Svechnikov much for the rest of the calendar year, if not at all.
The Senators have played well lately, winning their last 3 out of 4 games. The only loss was to the Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 4-3.
A poor start to the season has Ottawa digging itself out of a large hole in the Atlantic Division. Currenlty the Senators are in dead last with 22 points, trailing the Buffalo Sabres by 5 points. Filled with a roster of young talent and strong veterans in Claude Giroux, the expectations have not been met thus far. The same can be said for the Canes.
The former Philadelphia Flyers captain has had a strong season with 22 points and 9 goals. Ottawa is led by Tim Stutzle, who has 26 points, 20 of those points being assists. The goal leader for the Sens is captain, Brady Tkachuk. Tkachuk is a big physical presence in front of the net with good hands. The menace in Tkachuk will provide chaos for the Canes defenders.
A newcomer to Ottawa is veteran, Vladimir Tarasenko. Tarasenko was rumored to be heading to Raleigh this summer but that never came to fruition. 6 goals and 13 assists so far for Ottawa, Tarasenko seems to be healthy and contributing.
Defensively, the biggest threat is Jakob Chychrun. Chychrun was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes and taken over all the top responsibilities for this defensive group. He leads the defensemen with 15 points. On the man advantage, Chychrun has 7 helpers and 1 goal.
The crease has been shared by Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg. Korpisalo has the most wins with 6 but has not played well with a 3.22 GAA. Forsberg has 5 wins and a slightly better 3.03 GAA.
The inconsistency in goaltending and from the team in general makes Ottawa a tough team to prepare against. The team possesses speed and some real size in front of the opposition's goaltender. The Canes will need to keep Tkachuk at bay, while testing the Ottawa keeper early and often.