Pre-GAME
The Senators won a critical game against the Tampa Bay Lightning to capture two very important points. With 86 points, Ottawa has a 5 point lead over the Montreal Canadians in the first wild card spot. Ottawa are also 6 points behind the Florida Panthers which have lost 3 games in a row (twice against the Montreal Canadians and once against Toronto). They seem to be struggling against Canadian teams, can Ottawa continue the trend?
REMINDER: 2PM START TIME!
Playoff Watch: The Colorado Avalanche has clinched a playoff spot, marking all three teams in the Central division. Meanwhile, the Anaheim Ducks have officially been eliminated from the playoffs.
Playoff Picture: If the playoffs started today, Ottawa would face the Toronto Maple Leafs!
TO WATCH: Sens vs. Panthers at 2:00pm on TSN5
Game Day Report / Locker Room / On This Day / Around The Rink
GAME DAY REPORT
Senators vs. Panthers
Last Time: The Senators have battled the Florida Panthers on two previous occasions, a 3-1 win on October 10th followed by a 5-1 loss on February 8th in Florida. They battle for a final time tonight to determine who will win the series.
Game Day: Ottawa is fresh off a big victory against Tamp Bay while Florida has lost its last three games. Florida is looking desperate for a win so they will be pushing hard against an Ottawa team that seems to have struggled in scoring recently.
Panthers
44-27-4
3rd Atlantic
L3
3.09 (12th)
24.2 (11th)
2.72 (9th)
80.9 (T11th)
Matchup
Record
Standing
Streak
Avg. Goals Scored
PP (%)
Avg. Goals Allowed
PK (%)
Senators
40-29-6
4th Atlantic
W1
2.85 (20th)
23.4 (12th)
2.84 (T12th)
77.6 (18th)
Injury Report
Senators: N. Cousins (IR-LT – Knee), B. Tkachuk (Day-To-Day – Upper Body)
Panthers: N. Sturm (Upper Body), D. Kulikov (Upper Body), A. Barkov (Upper Body),
A. Ekblad (Suspension), M. Tkachuk (IR-LT – Groin)
LOCKER ROOM – JERSEY #82 & #83
We continue our two for one deal with jersey #82 and #83. A pair of players per jersey is what we have this time with Martin Straka and Colin White wearing #82 (with Colin White changing to #36 following the 2016-17 season) and Ales Hemsky and Christian Jaros wearing jersey #83.
Martin Straka
Colin White
1994-95 to 1995-96
2016-17
Ales Hemsky
Christian Jaros
2013-14
2017-18 to 2019-20
Check Out Senators Jersey History!
ON THE BENCH
Craig Hartsburg (2008-09
Craig Hartsburg’s hockey career was cut short after a persistent hip problem caused him to miss 103 out of 160 games, forcing his retirement at the age of 30. He accepted a position as an Assistant Coach with the North Stars for the 1989-90 season. He then became an Assistant Coach with the Philadelphia Flyers from 1990 to 1994.
Hartsburg took a year respite in the NHL to become Head Coach of the OHL Guelph Storm for the 1994-95 season before returning to the NHL this time as Head Coach of the Chicago Blackhawks from 1995 to 1998.
During the 1995-96 season, Chicago finished 2nd in the Central division, sweeping the Calgary Flames in the first round of the playoffs before losing to the Colorado Avalanche in six games in the second round. In the 1996-97 season, the Blackhawks finished 5th in the Central division and were eliminated by the Colorado Avalanche in six games during the first round of the playoffs. The following season the Blackhawks finished 5th place once again but missed the playoffs.
In 1998, Hartsburg was named Head Coach of the Might Ducks of Anaheim finishing 3rd place in the Pacific division and being swept in the first round of the playoffs by Detroit. They missed the playoffs during the 1999-2000 season and he was fired 33 games in the 2000-01 season after a record of 11-15-4.
He returned to the OHL to coach Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for one season before returning to the Philadelphia Flyers as an Assistant Coach for two seasons. In 2004, he returned to coach the Greyhounds until 2008. Hartsburg served a coach for the Canadian World Junior team during the IIHF World Junior Championship, winning the gold medal in 2007 when Canada defeated Russia 4-2 and once again the following year in 2008 when Canada defeated Sweden 3-2 in overtime.
On June 13, 2008, Craig Hartsburg signed a three-year contract as Head Coach of the Ottawa Senators, replacing General Manager Bryan Murray who had assumed interim coaching duties when John Paddock was fired on February 27, 2008. Hartsburg only coached 48 games with the Senators, being fired on February 1, 2009, after having compiled a 17-24-7 record. He was replaced by Cory Clouston.
On June 23, 2009, Hartsburg became Head Coach of the WHL Everett Silvertips, becoming the third coach in franchise history. In 2011 he stepped down from coaching in the WHL to join the Calgary Flames as an Assistant Coach. He was released the following year and quickly joined the Columbus Blue Jackets as an Associate Coach. He announced his retirement from coaching on April 13, 2016. He would return to the Blue Jackets organization in 2019 as an amateur scout and defense development coach.
THE STORY CONTINUES IN OUR NEXT POST
AROUND THE RINK
- Draisaitl ‘out short term’ for Oilers, expected back by playoffs.
- Ducks miss playoffs for 7th straight season
- Sens were hoping Tkachuk would skate, but he does not
- Sharks head coach Warsofsky named 2025 U.S. Men’s National Team Coach
