It’s often said that in a best-of-seven series, you’re never really in trouble until you lose a game at home. But it can also be said that if you’re down 0-2, it forces you to go 4-1 in the final five games.
That second statement sounds a lot like trouble.
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But if there’s a team this season that’s shown the resilience needed to pull that off, it’s the Ottawa Senators.
The series shifts to Ottawa for Game 3 on Thursday night, where the crowd will be loud, and their All Heart, All In rally towels will be waving.
The Senators announced at their game day skate that they’ve swapped out a pair of their depth defensemen for Game 3.
Tyler Kleven is well enough to play after taking an early-April puck to the face in a game against the Buffalo Sabres. After skating for almost a week now, he’ll take Dennis Gilbert’s spot while Ottawa native Cam Crotty plays in his first NHL playoff game, subbing in for Lassi Thomson.
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Here’s the Senators’ projected lineup:
Brady Tkachuk — Tim Stutzle — Drake Batherson
Ridly Greig — Dylan Cozens — Claude Giroux
Warren Foegele — Shane Pinto — Mike Amadio
Nick Cousins — Lars Eller — Fabian Zetterlund
Jake Sanderson — Nikolas Matinpalo
Thomas Chabot — Jordan Spence
Tyler Kleven — Cameron Crotty
Linus Ullmark
James Reimer
If Ottawa gets a lead, this alignment probably won’t change much. If Carolina gets the lead and the Sens are suddenly staring at the possibility of being down 0-3 in the series, then everything is on the table, including a very short bench.
Because a loss will all but end their season. NHL teams that take a 3-0 series lead have a tidy 209-4 record.
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As a sidebar, if you’re going to the game, there’s a decent chance that Sens veteran Claude Giroux or one of his kids put the towel on your seat.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News
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