Preview: Philadelphia at Ottawa
When: 7:30 PM ET, Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
Craig Anderson looks to dust himself off following a tough performance in his last outing as the goaltender helps the Ottawa Senators open a three-game homestand against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. Anderson, who made just 15 saves in a 4-3 setback to Arizona on Saturday, turned aside all 36 shots he faced in Ottawa’s 4-0 triumph over Philadelphia on Nov. 21.
Mike Hoffman has been on quite a roll, scoring one goal and setting up another versus the Flyers 10 days ago and has five tallies and two assists during his four-game point streak. While Ottawa saw its four-game winning streak come to an end, Philadelphia rebounded from its shutout loss to emerge victorious in three of its last four contests. “This is going to be a critical point. We’re hoping this can be the flip-around for our season here,” Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds told the team’s website following his two-goal performance in a 3-0 win over the New York Rangers on Saturday. “We’ve got to keep playing hard. We’ve played two strong games and we just have to continue when we go up to Ottawa.”
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, RDS2, WPCW (Philadelphia), TCN (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE FLYERS (9-10-5): While Simmonds enjoyed a stellar day at Madison Square Garden, linemates Sean Couturier and Matt Read also showed signs of breaking out of their respective slumps. Couturier scored for the first time in 13 games on Saturday and Read split a pair of defenders to spring Simmonds on a breakaway for the contest’s first goal. Steve Mason, who made 24 saves to record the Flyers’ league-leading fourth shutout, looks to rebound after permitting four goals on 31 shots versus Ottawa last month.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (12-6-5): Bobby Ryan, who notched two assists in the first meeting with Philadelphia, has recorded at least one point in 10 of Ottawa’s 12 games in November. “You look at November as hopefully a huge stepping stone for us,” Ryan told the team’s website after the Senators posted a 7-2-3 mark in the month. “Obviously the scoreboard reflects where we’re headed and what we think we’ve accomplished so far. It was a positive month.”
OVERTIME
1. Philadelphia veteran C R.J. Umberger participated in practice on Monday for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury on Nov. 7.
2. Anderson owns a 10-4-2 career mark with two shutouts versus the Flyers.
3. Philadelphia D Nick Schultz (upper body) is considered day-to-day despite practicing on Monday with a contact-permitted jersey.
PREDICTION: Senators 3, Flyers 1