Streaking Senators
Having not lost a game in more than three weeks, the Ottawa Senators have quickly vaulted to the top of the Eastern Conference.
The defending East champions look to win seven straight games for the first time in six years as they go for a sweep in a home-and-home series against the Boston Bruins at TD Banknorth Garden on Sunday night.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Ottawa -146 money line favorites (NHL Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 5.5 goals (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 53% of bets for this game have been placed on Ottawa -146 (View NHL Bet Percentages).
Ottawa (11-1-0) defeated the Bruins 3-2 at home on Saturday as Mike Fisher’s second goal of the game broke a 2-all tie with 6:11 left in the third period.
The Senators converted 3-of-6 opportunities with the man advantage on Saturday after going 4-for-18 in power-play chances in the first five games of their winning streak.
"We’ve got smart players that can move the puck around and shoot, so it was just a matter of time, I guess,” said Fisher, who has four goals and two assists during a five-game point streak.
The Senators’ lone loss this season came at home to Carolina on Oct. 11, and they’re outscoring their opponents 24-12 during their six-game winning streak. They have not won seven consecutive games since Oct. 25-Nov. 13, 2001.
On Saturday, Ottawa kept pressure on the Bruins all game and outshot them 45-19.
"This is a pretty good team that we played here tonight," Boston coach Claude Julien told the Bruins’ official Web site. "For some reason we didn’t generate as much offense as we should have. We need to…find some ways to generate some more offense."
Dany Heatley had a goal and an assist on Saturday for Ottawa, giving him eight goals and seven assists this season. Heatley also has seven goals and eight assists in his last 11 games against Boston.
The Senators have won five of their last six over the Bruins, including the last two meetings in Boston.
Ottawa has opened the season with a franchise-best four straight road wins, outscoring its opponents 14-6.
The Bruins (7-5-0), meanwhile, are 4-1-0 at home this season, but have alternated wins and losses in their last six games overall.
Chuck Kobasew had two second-period goals Saturday to end a seven-game goal-scoring drought.
"It’s been a while since I’ve been getting pucks to the net," he said. "I am going to try and continue to do that."
Senators goaltender Martin Gerber made 17 saves on Saturday, while the Bruins’ Tim Thomas stopped a season-high 42 shots.
Gerber has a league-leading eight wins to go with a 1.99 goals-against average, and is 3-2-0 with a 2.94 GAA in his career against Boston.
Ottawa’s Ray Emery, still rounding into form after offseason wrist surgery, is 2-0-0 with a 2.50 GAA this season, and is 4-3-1 with a 2.72 GAA all-time against the Bruins.
Thomas, meanwhile, is 5-3-0 with a 1.75 GAA in 2007-08, and 5-5-1 with a 2.72 GAA lifetime against the Senators. He may be back in net for this game as Manny Fernandez, who started the season in net for Boston, has been out since Tuesday with a knee strain and is listed as day-to-day.
Fernandez is 2-2-0 with a 3.93 GAA on the season, and has not defeated the Senators since 1999, going 1-3-0 with a 3.48 GAA against them in his career.
by: Staff Writers – Email Us
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