Game 69 Hub: Ottawa Senators @ New Jersey Devils

While I'm past the point of acceptance with the Senators, it's still shocking to me that the New Jersey Devils aren't a playoff team. They sit six points back of the Red Wings for the final wild card spot, and while it's not impossible, the margins are getting slim.

Like Ottawa, New Jersey's goaltending has let them down – giving up around 20 more goals than expected based on the quality of the chances they've faced. Unlike Ottawa, the Devils decided to try out a new tandem after the deadline, trading for unrestricted free agents Jake Allen (via Montréal) and Kaapo Kähkönen (via San Jose).

Will the Senators be able to take advantage?

Ottawa didn't have a morning skate today, and while they practiced yesterday, a few players were out so lines were mixed up. Hence, here's a reminder how they lined up against Boston, with the expected changes as follows: Crookshank alongside Stützle and Giroux and Greig at centre alongside Joseph and Kubalik. Korpisalo starts again.

Here's how the Devils lined up, featuring beat writer Amanda Stein's fantastic handwriting:

Game Notes

• John Marino is back in the lineup tonight, anchoring a depleted New Jersey defence corps that featured three top-six blueliners. They continue to wait for Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler. Nathan Bastian is the main forward that's injured, hence Chris Tierney's appearance on the Devils' fourth line.
• Ondrej Palat makes New Jersey's third line dangerous, even though Tomas Nosek and Dawson Mercer have disappointed.
• Curtis Lazar is the Devils' most effective fourth-liner, carrying play when he's on the ice and resuscitating this career.
• I was checking out how players' ice-time has trended since the trade deadline over at HockeyViz and it was interesting to see Jacques balancing the group out more – Kelly, Kubalik, Kastelic, and Batherson have all seen increases while Joseph, Giroux, and Greig have been given more time to rest.
• On defence, Brännström has seen the biggest relative increase to amount 18 minutes a night while playing the right-side.
• Tonight's 7:00 pm EDT game is available on CityTV and TVA Sports.

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