Senators Set to Invade Music City: Ottawa Clashes with Nashville Predators
As the Ottawa Senators prepare to face off against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena, fans are cautiously optimistic. The Senators have had a mixed bag of results in their recent outings, but there's reason to believe they could pull off an upset in the heart of Tennessee.
In their last game on February 17 against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Senators showed resilience despite a narrow 3-2 loss. They peppered the Blackhawks with 42 shots and managed to net two goals. Their powerplay capitalized once out of two opportunities, which is a promising sign as special teams often make or break tight games.
However, it wasn't all sunshine for Ottawa; they ended up on the wrong side of hits and faceoff percentages. With only 47 percent faceoffs won and a minus-10 plus-minus rating, it's clear that there are areas needing improvement. The goaltending was solid though, saving 19 out of 22 shots for an almost perfect save percentage.
Looking back further to February 16 against Anaheim Ducks at Canadian Tire Centre provides both encouragement and caution. The Senators were overwhelmed by five goals to one despite firing off 34 shots themselves. A glaring issue was their powerplay performance where they failed to convert any of their four chances while giving up two shorthanded goals.
But let's not dwell too much on past defeats; instead let’s focus on what went right during their emphatic victory over Columbus Blue Jackets on February 14 at home soil – scoring six goals from just thirty shots is no small feat! Their powerplay was clicking that night with two goals from five opportunities and even added a shorthanded goal for good measure.
The upcoming game presents an opportunity for redemption and perhaps some consistency in play that has been lacking thus far. If they can maintain offensive pressure like they did against Chicago while tightening up defensively as seen in parts of previous games, then fans might just witness an upset over Nashville Predators who will be defending home ice advantage fiercely.
The key will be converting those shot opportunities into actual points on the board while also keeping discipline - avoiding unnecessary penalties which have plagued them before.
The stage is set for what promises to be an exciting encounter between these two teams come February 28th at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville at 8:00 PM EST (7:00 PM local time). Fans can catch all the action live nationally via ESPN+ or locally through BSSO channel number 646-1. Don't miss what could potentially be one of those pivotal moments in Ottawa Senators' season narrative!