Let’s not sugar coat it - the Ottawa Senators need to beat the Buffalo Sabres tonight if they want to hit the goal of “meaningful hockey in March”. We’ve all heard the measuring stick of US Thanksgiving - about 75% of teams in a playoff position stay there, and no team more than five points out has ever made it. The Sens currently sit eight points behind the wild card teams, with a week and four games to go before that benchmark.
We all know the injuries are going to make that harder. Josh Norris, Artem Zub and Thomas Chabot all out are challenging the roster’s depth.