According to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, Brady Tkachuk will miss the game against the Canadiens. That’s a big loss for the Ottawa Senators but they want to make sure he can play in game one of the playoffs.
Nick Suzuki is scoring with the elite centers in the league. This is something that he’s been building towards and the fact that he’s just 25 makes this even more sweet. As the captain, he can set the tone with a great game and possibly some points to lead by example.
At this point in the season, Ottawa is trying to stay sharp and keep players healthy. This isn’t the NBA where teams will sit all of their starters, there’s no way to do that. Will Ottawa play this one all out in hopes of catching the Florida Panthers? It is possible.
If the Canadiens jump out to an early two-goal lead, they might be able to ride that. Scoring first would really help for sure. The Canadiens might be able to take away the Senators' will in this one and that’s the hope for the fanbase. It could be a joyous night. But this is why they play the games because anything can happen. first game of the playoffs and now the Montreal Canadiens can clinch tonight with a regulation win.
The game is in Ottawa and there’s a chance Linus Ullmark could be in net so this isn’t a gimme kind of game. I’m throwing all statistics out of the window for this one. When you are on the precipice of securing a playoff spot, the emotion and drive of the players should be enough to get them over the finish line.