Canucks at Senators
The Ottawa Senators have ridden an emotional roller coaster through the first three weeks of the season and look for their first three-game winning streak when the Vancouver Canucks pay them a visit on Thursday. Goaltender Craig Anderson returned to the Senators on Sunday following the news that his wife was diagnosed with cancer and produced two gems, allowing a total of one goal in two victories.
“It’s beyond words the way that he’s playing right now with the circumstances and what he’s going through with his wife,” Ottawa defenseman Dion Phaneuf told reporters regarding Anderson. “It’s incredible. He’s an inspiration to all of us.” The Senators have turned things around under first-year coach Guy Boucher after a rough 2-3-0 stretch while Vancouver is trying to end a six-game slide (0-5-1), which followed four straight victories to open the season. The Canucks had a 42-21 advantage in shots Wednesday in a 3-0 loss at Montreal that began a six-game road trip. Vancouver has been shut out three times during their skid and registered just 16 goals in the first 10 games of the campaign.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Sportsnet (Vancouver), RDS, TSN5 (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (4-5-1): Vancouver does not have a player with more than five points in the first 10 games and is 0-for-12 on the power play over its last five contests – coming up empty on five attempts in the loss at Montreal. Captain Henrik Sedin and Brandon Sutter lead the team with five points apiece while Bo Horvat has scored a team-high four goals in the early going. Ryan Miller got the start in Montreal and owns a .905 save percentage, which could give Thursday's nod to Jacob Markstrom, who is 3-1-1 with a .913 save percentage.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (6-3-0): With Anderson’s situation and the injury to backup Andrew Hammond, Ottawa acquired Mike Condon from Pittsburgh on Wednesday for a fifth-round draft pick. The Senators also returned promising 19-year-old defenseman Thomas Chabot to his junior team after he played just one of the club's first nine games. Defenseman Erik Karlsson leads the team in scoring with nine points in nine games and boasts an impressive plus-6 rating while Kyle Turris has netted a team-high five goals after his overtime winner in Tuesday’s triumph over Carolina.
OVERTIME
1. Vancouver assigned Ds Troy Stecher and Tom Nilsson to Utica of the American Hockey League on Wednesday.
2. Ottawa RW Mark Stone suffered an upper-body injury against Carolina on Tuesday and could miss the contest versus Vancouver.
3. The Senators are 4-1-1 in their last six meetings with Vancouver after posting a 3-0 victory last week.