Winless Ottawa Senators host undefeated Carolina Hurricanes
The Ottawa Senators are still in search of their first win of the new season as they take on the undefeated Carolina Hurricanes at Scotia Bank Place in Ottawa on Thursday night.
Previous meetings
Despite the fact that it was the Ottawa Senators who made the play-offs last season and the Carolina Hurricanes who didn't, Carolina still won the season series between these two teams with a pair of 4-1
victories at home, and a 4-2 loss in Ottawa.
How they match up
The Senators are off to a very disappointing start and have managed only a single point from their first three games when they suffered a 3-2 loss in overtime to the Washington Capitals on Monday night.
The Carolina Hurricanes will be playing their first regular season match in North America as they opened their season in Europe playing in a two-game series against the Minnesota Wild in Helsinki, Finland.
The Hurricanes won both matches and, for the moment, are top spot in the Southeast division.
The Ottawa Senators have yet to have one of their forwards step up and make an impact as only Jarkko Ruutu and Chris Neil have more than a single point. Captain Daniel Alfredsson has clawed his way closer
to the 1000 point mark with one assist this season, and the Senators only have four goals as only the Anaheim Ducks are averaging fewer goals per game. Worse yet for the Senators, starting goaltender Pascal Leclaire has looked shaky, conceding a rather weak
goal through his five-hole in overtime against the Capitals.
For the Hurricanes, Jussi Jokinen and Brandon Sutter were impressive in their wins versus the Wild, while captain Eric Staal was held pointless and spent more time in the penalty box than any other player
on the Hurricanes. Cam Ward looked to be back to his old self and was solid between the pipes for Carolina saving 67 of the 71 shots he faced.
What to expect
Ottawa Senators head coach Cory Clouston will have to feel like this is the moment to get his team going before they head out on a three-game road swing. If the Senators are going to take any points while
they are away from home they will have to find some confidence going forward, and facing perhaps a slightly road weary side like the Hurricanes might be the best chance they have.
Although one of the two games played in Helsinki, Finland was considered a home game, the Carolina Hurricanes do not play at their home rink, the RBC Center, until 27 October. Any points they manage to
gather while on the road in that time will be more than welcome no matter what the current status of their opponent is.
It's so early in the season but the Senators already look like a team without hope or any real belief in themselves. It was thought they'd be more motivated than ever after an impressive, albeit unsuccessful,
play-off series against the Pittsburgh Penguins last season, but they have come out of the gates looking very flat.
Carolina have too much momentum at the moment while the Sens are in reverse. Hurricanes win 4-1.
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