Today at 4:00 p.m. ET, the Ottawa Senators (26-13-11. 63 points) and Vancouver Canucks (28-24-10, 66 points) faceoff in Heritage Classic action live from BC Place in Vancouver. The game can be live streamed here. Ottawa fans can hear all of the action on TSN 1500 while Vancouver fans can do the same on TEAM 1040.
This is the sixth and final outdoor game for the NHL this season. It all started on New Year's Day with the Winter Classic that saw the Toronto Maple Leafs defeat the Detroit Red Wings at Michigan Stadium and continued with four Stadium Series games that saw the Anaheim Ducks top the Los Angeles Kings at Dodgers Stadium, the New York Rangers defeat the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders three days apart and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday night at Soldier Field.
Ottawa and Vancouver are both out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference respectively, and each comes into play looking for a big two points as they race for the top eight. The first time these two teams met, the Canucks defeated the Senators 5-2 in Ottawa on Nov. 28.
Vancouver has lost eight of its last 10 games, and it appears that the never-ending carousel of goaltending controversies has reared its head after coach John Tortorella revealed that Eddie Lack will start between the pipes instead of Roberto Luongo.
"I've always wanted to play in an outdoor game," Luongo told NHL.com. "So I was excited when I saw we got one this year and I was looking forward to it. I don't want to start going through this again. When I am on the ice, I give myself 100 percent. I try to be the best I can be and the rest is out of my control, so I am not going to start putting myself in a spot like that again. Whatever happens from here on in I am just going to battle, and if it's me, it's me. If it's not, it's not."
Lack is 9-8-4 with a 2.05 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage for the Canucks this season. Lack will likely be opposed by Senators backstop Craig Anderson, who is 19-12-8 with a 3.09 GAA and a .908 save percentage.
The Senators look to bounce back from a 6-1 loss to the Red Wings in their first game back from the Olympic break. The Sens let up four goals in seven minutes in the first period of that contest.
"I can't really remember any of those goals from [Thursday] being anyone's fault, but individual breakdowns or missed assignments," forward Bobby Ryan said via NHL.com. "They weren't gaps in coverage or lapses, they were misreads more than anything. You make one early and then we made another one in 30 seconds and it just kind of spiraled."
Ryan is tied with Kyle Turris (19 goals, 25 assists) for third on Ottawa with 44 points off of 22 goals and 22 assists while Jason Spezza ranks second with 45 points off of 15 tallies and 30 helpers and Erik Karlsson leads the team and all NHL defenseman with 55 points by lighting the lamp 15 times and adding 40 assists.
The Sedin twins each pace Vancouver with 40 points as Daniel Sedin has 13 goals and 27 assists while Henrik Sedin has nine markers and 31 helpers. Ryan Kesler has goals in two straight games and leads the team by finding the back of the net 21 times while adding 18 assists for 39 points.
The NHL's slate of outdoor games comes to a close when the Senators and Canucks hit the ice at BC Place tonight in Vancouver.
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