Can the Ottawa Senators Turn the Tide at KeyBank Center?

As the Ottawa Senators gear up for their next challenge against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center, fans are left pondering whether their team can reverse recent misfortunes. The Senators' performance in past games has been a mixed bag of effort and missed opportunities, which could be cause for concern or a rallying cry for improvement.

In their last outing on January 10 against the Calgary Flames, OTT showed they could find the back of the net with three goals but ultimately fell short in a game that ended with a 6-3 loss. Despite putting up 33 shots and converting one of three powerplays into a goal, it was defensive lapses that saw them concede six goals on even strength. This was compounded by an unimpressive plus-minus of -21.

OTT's goaltending statistics from this game do offer some solace; they managed to save 30 out of 35 shots, reflecting a save percentage that rounded up to an impressive hundred percent. However, this wasn't enough to secure victory as they were outplayed by Calgary's offense which boasted a seventeen percent shooting accuracy.

The Senators' previous encounter with Edmonton Oilers on January 7 also ended in disappointment despite an outstanding goaltending performance that saw them make 43 saves from an onslaught of 46 shots. The final scoreline read justly in favor of Edmonton at 3-1.

Looking further back to January 5 against Seattle Kraken reveals another narrow defeat where OTT lost by one goal margin (4-3). Once again, goaltending wasn't much at fault as they saved twenty-four out of twenty-seven shots faced during playtime.

The recurring theme here is clear: while OTT has shown resilience between the pipes, it's their ability to capitalize on scoring opportunities and maintain defensive solidity throughout sixty minutes that needs sharpening. With Buffalo Sabres waiting in their den, it will be crucial for OTT to tighten up defensively and improve upon their nine percent shooting accuracy displayed against Calgary if they wish to come away with points from KeyBank Center.

As we look ahead towards this matchup scheduled for January 12th at midnight Eastern Time (ET), fans can catch all the action live on ESPN+ nationally or MSG-B channel number six hundred thirty-five dash one if you're tuning in from home territory. It’s time for Ottawa Senators fans to rally behind their team as they seek redemption and perhaps start turning around what has been an unpredictable season thus far.