Ottawa Senators favourites against Carolina Hurricanes – NHL Preview
The Ottawa Senators have battled hard to get a playoff berth in the current National Hockey League (NHL) season and now they can relax for some time.
However, they have three more games to play in the regular season and two of them are against top challengers, who also have qualified for the playoffs.
It will be at their own advantage if Senators win the remaining games and get a psychological edge over other playoff teams.
Senators are going to face the lowly Carolina Hurricanes, who are already eliminated from the playoff contention, on Tuesday, April 03, 2012, at Scotiabank Place, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
The slumping Hurricanes just want to end the season on a positive note, but that seems unlikely to happen.
Let’s take a look at both teams.
Senators
They are ranked at seventh spot in the Eastern Conference with 92 points after 79 games.
They are presently on a four-game winning streak with the victories coming against Pittsburgh Penguins (8-4), Winnipeg Jets (6-4), Philadelphia Flyers (4-3 after shootout) and New York Islanders (5-1).
In their last game, Senators gave away a goal in the first period, but they provided the equaliser in the same period and added three goals in the second and one more in the final to win the game.
Senators’ defenseman, Chris Phillips, said after the win:
"We're going in the right direction, coming together at the right time and playing hard as a team. We had a lot to prove this year and we've done well with that so far. Now we look to the playoffs."
Hurricanes
They are ranked at 12th spot in the Eastern Conference with 78 points after 79 games and are already eliminated from the playoff contention.
Out of the last five games, Hurricanes have lost four. At present, they are on a two-game losing streak with the defeats coming against Winnipeg Jets (4-3 in overtime) and New Jersey Devils (5-0).
After the humiliating loss against Devils, Hurricanes’ coach, Kirk Muller, said:
"The emotional letdown of not making the playoffs hit us. It's easy to say we're going to go right to the end, but I think, if anything, it obviously showed that guys are disappointed and it affected our play tonight."
Predictions
Senators have an edge.
The sum of goals scored by both teams might stay under six.
If Hurricanes win, the winning margin will be less than two goals.
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