The Ottawa Senators kick off their season against division rivals the Buffalo Sabres
The Ottawa Senators won five of six meetings against the Buffalo Sabres last season and they will be hoping to continue that trend as they open their season at home to their division rivals on Friday night.
How they match up
The Buffalo Sabres' possess one bargaining chip which makes them competitive in every game they play, and that is goaltender Ryan Miller. But the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers, the two teams who competed in the Stanley Cup final last season,
proved that you don't need a goaltending-centric game plan to get to the cup anymore.
The days of the Patrick Roys, the Martin Brodeurs, and the Eddie Belfours of the NHL, where so much of the focus was centered around team goaltending, appear to be over, making the setup in Buffalo seem slightly obsolete. But Ryan Miller is a goaltender
of a different class. Last year's Vezina Trophy winner was the only reason that the Sabres won the division and made it to the play-offs, and it was the main reason why the U.S. competed for Olympic gold in the Vancouver Olympics back in February.
Miller was also impressive in pre-season, surrendering only five goals in the four games he played and saving over 93 percent of the shots he faced-the Sabres had four wins and two losses. Forwards Derek Roy and Drew Stafford were also on fire in the pre-season,
as Roy led all scorers during pre-season, tied with Toronto's Phil Kessel, with 10 points. Stafford wasn't far behind with nine points in the pre-season.
For Ottawa, unlike in Buffalo, a big question mark surrounds their goaltending. Both Pascal Leclaire and Brian Elliot were sub-par in the pre-season, and it was prospect Robin Lehner who put up the best numbers during camp. Senators head coach Cory Clouston
has been tight-lipped about who will get the start between the pipes.
Despite a tumultuous off-season that was riddled with trade rumours, Jason Spezza was strong during the pre-season. However, the 27-year-old center is currently nursing a groin injury and may not play.
Senators forwards Daniel Alfredsson and Alex Kovalev have a little extra motivation to put up points, since they are each chasing the 1000 point plateau. Neither one was much of a factor in the pre-season, but both are proven veterans and will be expected
to lead the team this season.
What to expect
Although Ottawa dominated the season series, it's the Sabres who had the most recent regular season victory, and they did it in Ottawa when they won 5-2 on April 10. The Sabres also were tops in the Northeast division last season and will be looking to repeat
that feat.
After missing the play-offs two seasons ago, the Sens were back last year and made an 11-point improvement. Both teams plan to challenge for the division title, but early predictions seem to give the edge to the Boston Bruins, meaning the Sabres and Sens
will likely battle for one of the bottom four spots making each meeting between the two sides all the more important in determining who will still be playing next April.
Cautiously, the Senators' home ice advantage will be enough to get them a win, most likely a 3-2 (SO) victory.
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