OTTAWA SENATORS (6-5-3) at PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (8-5-1)
Faceoff: 1 pm, TSN5, RDS2
The Senators go another round with the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon. The two clubs met in Ottawa back on October 23rd with the Senators winning a defensive struggle, 2-1. Former Flyer Olle Lycksell scored the winner early in the second period before the two clubs completely shut each other down the rest of the way.
The State of Sens Nation
That win over the Flyers was the start of better things for the Senators. With the inclusion of that victory, the Sens have only lost once in regulation (4-1-2) since, though they have dropped their last two in overtime, falling 3-2 to the Boston Bruins on Thursday night and 4-3 to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
Much of the dialogue in Sens Nation has centred on goaltending. With Linus Ullmark just 12 games into his four-year, $33 million contract, he hasn't come close to living up to the expectations that come with being the Senators' second-highest paid player. Ullmark stats so far are among the worst in the NHL, with an .863 save percentage and a 3.36 goals against.
While official lineups aren't out until closer to game time, backup Leevi Merilainen will get a look either Saturday or Sunday. He's only started in two games so far this season.
It's been a slow start for three Senators who are all just starting their new contracts. Along with Ullmark, Ridly Greig (4 years at $3.25 million per) and Fabian Zetterlund (3 years at $4.275 million per) are scuffling. In 14 games, Greig has 1 goal and 3 assists, while Zetterlund has 1 goal and 2 assists.
The Senators are on their Dad's trip so they made a father-son visit to Lincoln Financial Field to tour the Eagles' facility, dressing room, and even got to pose with the two Vince Lombardi Trophies the Eagles have won. Sens fans would love to see some of that championship aura rub off on the fellas.
They also whipped across the street to Citizens Bank Park to tour the Phillies' building and even take some swings in their batting cages. That was a special treat for centre Shane Pinto, who's apparently a big Philies fan.
This will end a stretch of three road games before the Sens open a four-game homestand on Sunday night versus the Utah Mammoth.
The Opponent
In their preseason NHL forecasts, not many of the experts saw the Philadelphia Flyers logo pop up in their playoff crystal balls, but the Flyers currently hold down a wild card with a record of 8-5-1 so far this season. That said, the Eastern Conference parity borders on the bizarre. Only six points separate first from 16th, and everyone in the conference is above .500 (points percentage).
The Flyers have gone 5-2-0 over their last seven games, and they've been relatively stingy, allowing just 2.6 goals per game. But when it comes to these routine-destroying 1 pm starts, a lot of trends tend to go out the window.
This may be the year that Trevor Zegras' point production catches up with his sublime skill level. Zegras leads all Flyers in scoring with 15 points in 14 games, so the change of address this season after five years in Anaheim appears to have served him well.
Former Ottawa 67's captain Travis Konecny is on a six-game point streak after a goal and an assist in the Flyers' 3-1 victory in Nashville on Thursday.
Senators projected lineup (subject to change)
Nick Cousins -- Tim Stutzle -- Drake Batherson
Ridly Greig -- Dylan Cozens -- David Perron
Michael Amadio -- Shane Pinto -- Claude Giroux
Kurtis MacDermid -- Lars Eller -- Fabian Zetterlund
Jake Sanderson -- Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot -- Nick Jensen
Tyler Kleven -- Nikolas Matinpalo
Linus Ullmark
Leevi Merilainen
Flyers projected lineup (subject to change)
Owen Tippett -- Christian Dvorak -- Trevor Zegras
Matvei Michkov -- Sean Couturier -- Bobby Brink
Nikita Grebenkin -- Noah Cates -- Travis Konecny
Nicolas Deslauriers -- Rodrigo Abols -- Garnet Hathaway
Cam York -- Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler -- Jamie Drysdale
Emil Andrae -- Noah Juulsen
Samuel Ersson
Dan Vladar
Steve Warne
This article was originally published at The Hockey News/Ottawa
Related: Analytics: Can Linus Ullmark Replace Another Slow Start With Another November Heater?
Analytics: Can Senators Goalie Linus Ullmark Replace Another Slow Start With Another November Heater?An analyst recently questioned Ullmark's intensity, and Ullmark questioned some aspects of his own offseason prep. Between that and his current numbers, there are goaltending concerns again in Ottawa.