Game 36 Preview: Red Wings at Ottawa Senators

Both the Red Wings and Senators lost 4-3 in regulation Tuesday night. Now the two square off tonight. Who will return to the win column?

The Red Wings played catch-up hockey against the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday night and ultimately lost. The Ottawa Senators, on the other hand, led the New York Rangers 3-1 after the first twenty minutes but coughed up three unanswered goals over the final two periods. Both Detroit and Ottawa seek to bounce back after their respective tough losses.

Preliminary Info

Who? Detroit Red Wings (15-16-4, 8th in Atlantic) and Ottawa Senators (20-12-3, 2nd in Atlantic)

Where? Canadian Tire Centre

When? 8:00pm EST

TV: Fox Sports Detroit

Radio: Click here to check your local listings

Enemy Blog: SenShot

Leading Scorers

Sens points: Erik Karlsson, 32. Sens goals: Mark Stone, 12. Sens assists: Erik Karlsson, 25.

Red Wings points: Henrik Zetterberg, 24. Red Wings goals: Dylan Larkin, 10. Red Wings assists: Henrik Zetterberg, 17.

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Recent History

This is the second game of the season between the Red Wings and Senators. The first game, on October 17, was also the Wings’ home opener, a 5-1 win which featured Mike Green’s first career hat trick.

Last season Detroit played Ottawa five times, with Detroit going 3-0-1.

Tonight’s game is at the Canadian Tire Centre, where the Red Wings sport a 5-1-1 record since December 2013.

Keys to the Game

Scoring first would be nice for a change. The last time the Red Wings did that was December 3 against the Penguins (even though they lost). Conversely, the Senators have scored the game’s first goal in five straight. Scoring first doesn’t guarantee a win (just ask the Sens about Tuesday night), but it certainly helps matters. Like Detroit, Ottawa doesn’t consistently put the puck in the back of the net. Whoever scores first will win this game.

Jared Coreau is expected to start for Detroit—the third start of his NHL career. He was excellent against the Panthers on the 23rd; if it weren’t for him stopping every Panther shot in the third, the Wings would likely not have come back to beat them. Simply put, Coreau needs to be on top of his game in order for Detroit to win tonight. If not, I highly doubt the Red Wings offense will compensate.

I presume Mike Condon will start for the Sens. Condon sports a .918 SV%, which is about league average; but he has also surrendered one goal or fewer in three of his past four starts at the Canadian Tire Centre, where he sports a .937 SV%. The Red Wings offense definitely has their work cut out for them.

Prediction: Senators win 4-2. They score first, and their fourth goal is an empty netter. I hope I am wrong.

LGRW!