The nation’s capital is buzzing on Thursday morning as the Ottawa Senators are set to play their first home game in the Battle of Ontario series.
The home team is down 2-0 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but a game surrounded by red in the Canadian Tire Centre could inspire a much-needed boost and win.
“It’s not a series until somebody loses at home,” Ottawa forward Ridley Greig said Wednesday to The Canadian Press. “So, you know, we’ve got to take care of business here and kind of have a business mindset here going into this game.”
The hometown heroes are coming back after a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 2 in Toronto on Tuesday. A turnover and defensive breakdown allowed Toronto’s Max Domi to score the overtime winner at 3:09.
“You live and you learn,” said forward Drake Batherson, whose turnover led to the overtime winner. “I mean, you make a mistake, and you learn from it, and sometimes it’s the hard way, and obviously, cost us the game. So, live and learn.”
The city is preparing for large crowds at the CT Centre, with music, games starting as early as 4:00 p.m. today. Last week Mayor Mark Sutcliffe raised the Sens flag at city hall and reopened Sens Mile on Elgin Street, a moment not seen since the last playoff run in 2017.
Sens are confident
Despite the challenge ahead, the Senators remain confident.
Senators coach Travis Green spoke of the importance of turning the page, but also needing to make necessary adjustments.
“There are certain things that we wanted to do from game one to game two that I thought really helped,” said Green. “And then from game two to game three each team is going to kind of make a few little adjustments here and there, and you hope that they help.”
The Senators know there are a number of things they can do better, such as getting off to a stronger start.
Ottawa gave up the first goal in its first two games and have been forced to chase the game. The team will be looking to build off the energy of its fans, but goaltender Linus Ullmark stressed the importance of playing smart, disciplined hockey from puck drop to the final buzzer.
“It’s always nice to come out with guns blazing, but you have to have a little bit of joyful aggression to it as well,” Ullmark said.
