Can Ottawa Senators Overcome the Winnipeg Jets' Home Advantage?
As the Ottawa Senators prepare to face off against the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre, fans are eager to see if their team can overcome recent setbacks and secure a win on enemy ice. The upcoming game, scheduled for March 30th, is an opportunity for the Senators to demonstrate resilience and tactical prowess after a series of challenging matches.
The Senators have had a rocky road leading up to this encounter. Their last game on March 18th against the Carolina Hurricanes ended in a crushing 7-2 defeat at home. Despite having more hits (23) and a slightly better faceoff win percentage (51 percent), they were outplayed in most aspects of the game. The Hurricanes dominated with an impressive shooting percentage of 18 percent compared to just 6 percent from the Senators.
However, there's reason for optimism as we look back at Ottawa's performance on March 16th against the New York Islanders. In that match, they showed tenacity by pushing through to overtime and securing a powerplay-driven victory with two goals during man-advantage situations out of their total four goals scored.
The key takeaway from these past games is that when given powerplay opportunities, OTT has been able to capitalize effectively – something they'll need against WPG's strong defensive lineup. The Jets will be looking to maintain their winning momentum after their own recent victories but will need to watch out for OTT’s potential resurgence.
For OTT, it’s crucial that they improve their even-strength play and find ways to penetrate WPG’s goaltending which has been formidable this season. Additionally, minimizing giveaways will be essential; with eleven giveaways in their last encounter with Carolina compared to nine takeaways – maintaining possession could prove pivotal in determining who comes out on top.
OTT fans should also keep an eye on special teams’ performance; both powerplay conversions and penalty kills could very well decide this matchup given how closely matched these two teams are statistically speaking.
Looking ahead at what promises to be an exciting clash between these conference rivals, it's clear that if OTT can leverage its strengths while shoring up weaknesses exposed in recent games – particularly by bolstering defense and capitalizing on powerplays – there is every chance they can turn things around even away from home ice.
The action unfolds at Canada Life Centre where puck drop is scheduled for March 30th at 6:00 PM CT. Fans won't want miss this battle which can be watched live on ESPN+.