The Ottawa Senators are in Philadelphia tonight, and it’s hard to predict what kind of team they’ll encounter. After losing four games in a row, the Flyers are now staring at the business end of a fifth straight season without making the playoffs.
Will they be a team with a broken spirit, mentally tapped out, or the wounded animal that’s ready to rumble and do whatever it takes to stay alive?
Philly will certainly be the physically fresher team on Tuesday night. The Senators are coming off an emotional 2–1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday, a W that was almost single-handedly earned by goalie Linus Ullmark, who made 48 saves.
According to NHL.com, Ullmark tied the seventh-highest save total in a game by a Senators goaltender and became the seventh netminder since 1997-98 (when shots by period were first tracked) to make 27-plus saves in a period without allowing a goal.
But Ullmark won’t be there to save them on Tuesday night because he isn’t even dressing for this one.
The Senators have called up Leevi Meriläinen from AHL Belleville to back up Tuesday night’s probable starter, Anton Forsberg. The club has not confirmed what’s going on with Ullmark, but according to TSN 1200 radio, he’s on the trip and is not believed to be injured. So it may be a case that after such a busy night on Monday, the Sens want him to have the night off to rest no matter what.
As an aside, this sets up an interesting showdown on Thursday night at the CTC when there’s a good chance Ullmark will face Jeremy Swayman, his old Bruins running mate. And it also makes you wonder if the Sens might not be better off starting Meriläinen in Philly. Compared to Forsberg, the rookie has superior NHL stats across the board.
Ivan Fedotov is expected to start for the Flyers, his first since January 7th.
With 19 games to play, the Senators currently hold the first wild card spot in the East with 71 points, one point up on the Columbus Blue Jackets and three on the New York Rangers.
The Flyers, meanwhile, are now eight points out of a playoff spot, which makes the eight points they’ve lost in the last four games even harder to swallow.
Here are the projected lineups, according to NHL.com. They’re very much subject to change since the Sens didn’t skate on Tuesday.
Senators projected lineup:
Brady Tkachuk – Tim Stützle – Claude Giroux
David Perron – Dylan Cozens – Drake Batherson
Ridly Grieg – Shane Pinto – Michael Amadio
Matthew…