Three Stars of the Game
3. Thomas Chabot
2 Assists, 3 Hits, 19:40 Minutes On Ice
2. Chris Wideman
2 Goals
1. Craig Anderson
36 Saves, .937 Save Percentage
(0:00): Ottawa Senators take the 5-1 victory, their first home win of the season. Wideman picks up two goals in one game for the first time in his career.
(0:19): Continued defense by Senators, White picks up a slashing penalty.
(4:39): Kopitar skates in, takes a slapshot, but Anderson gloves it.
(6:10): LaDue takes a shot from the blue line, Amadio deflects it, but the puck goes wide.
(8:57): GOAL! Defenseman Chris Wideman gets his second of the game on a delayed penalty goal. Tkachuk screens Budaj very well and Wideman's slap shot goes through. Duchene and Harpur pick up assists. 5-1 Senators!
(10:15): As we approach the 50-minute mark, Senators are playing very defensively in this third period, Kings have outshot them 28 to 14.
(13:06): Doughty drives into the zone, but gets stick-lifted by Tkachuk. Senators have locked this game down, and we haven't seen much of a third period yet.
(16:40): It's been an end to end affair thus far in this period, but no chances for either team.
(20:00): We are back for the third period. The Kings have outshot the Senators 25 to 14, but it is Ottawa that are leading 4-1, the score that actually matters.
(0:00): The time has expired on the second period, the Senators lead 4-1 entering the final 20 minutes.
(2:34): Mark Borowiecki gets a tripping penalty against Jeff Carter.
(4:07): GOAL! 1-4! The Kings take one back. Drew Doughty finds Trevor Lewis who just got on the ice, protects the puck well, beats Anderson for his first goal of the season. Doughty and Muzzin receive assists.
(4:07): GOAL! 1-4! The Kings take one back. Drew Doughty finds Trevor Lewis who just got on the ice, protects the puck well, beats Anderson for his first goal of the season. Doughty and Muzzin receive assists.
(4:07): GOAL! 1-4! The Kings take one back. Drew Doughty finds Trevor Lewis who just got on the ice, protects the puck well, beats Anderson for his first goal of the season. Doughty and Muzzin receive assists.
(6:10): Kovalchuk wins the puck behind Anderson's goal and Pearson lifts it onto Anderson, but the Senators went right up the other end, getting a 2-on-1, but Duchene hesitates and his shot is saved.
(8:15): Paajarvi got on a breakaway, but Budaj held strong.
(8:15): Paajarvi got on a breakaway, but Budaj held strong.
(9:16): Brady Tkachuk and Dion Phaneuf get a bit chippy with each other, Brady is looking to continue the Tkachuk legacy.
(9:59): GOAL! Colin White gets a 4-0 lead. Senators cleared the puck, White picked it up and scored on Campbell's far side. Maxime Lajoie gets an assist. Peter Budaj replaces Campbell in goals.
(11:34): The Kings have now had a quality spell of possession in the Senators zone, Doughty shoots wide and Ottawa ice the puck.
(12:32): Chabot is back. It was a better power play and the Kings have improved in general, but if they don't get goals, it won't help them.
(13:36): Kopitar breaks into the zone, Carter receives the pass and takes a good shot.
(14:12): Anderson-Dolan gets a look as Carter centers the pass, but Anderson holds solid on his near post.
(14:33): Chabot hooks Carter and Kings get another power play.
(15:33): Muzzin skates in and steps into the loose puck with a slapshot, saved by Anderson.
(15:33): Muzzin skates in and steps into the loose puck with a slapshot, saved by Anderson.
(17:14): The Senators center the pass, Boedker is in front of the goal, but it is poked away by Pearson.
(19:54): The second period has begun, can the Kings get back into the game or will we see the Senators run away with it. Kings have a solid chance as the puck bounces behind Anderson but does not cross the goal line.
(0:00): First period is done, the Kings had back-to-back power plays, but don't seem to be playing with the urgency and drive Senators are, and that is a part of the reasons why Ottawa are 3-0 up.
(0:32): Kings have been playing better, but it's hard to picture them launching a three-goal comeback.
(3:41): The goal is confirmed, 3-0 Senators, who are having everything go in, picking up the rebounds. Mark Stone gets the goal, Colin White and Thomas Chabot pick up assists, the second of the match for the latter.
(3:41): GOAL! 3-0 Senators! Mark Stone gets the goal, but there is a review as we're unsure if the puck crossed the line.
(5:29): A hooking penalty comes against Derek Forbort, the Senators have their first power play of the match.
(7:49): Brady Tkachuk and Mikkel Boedker assisted on the play.
(8:10): Call on the ice stands, Senators are up 2-0, a seemingly correct call.
(8:10): GOAL! The Kings get punished, Chris Wideman gets his first of the season after Nate Thompson failed to pick him up, scores on the back door. The Kings take a goaltender interference challenge.
(8:43): A better power play by the Kings, but we are back to even strength.
(10:43): Dylan DeMelo gets another penalty for the Senators for holding, the Kings' power play gets another chance.
(10:59): The penalty has expired, not a great one from the Kings, but settling in once the second unit came on.
(12:38): Kings get their power play going, not getting quite settled. They are 0 for 14 on power plays this season so far, but Anderson-Dolan has replaced Kovalchuk on the top power play, not bringing a change yet.
(12:59): Kempe gets a partial breakaway, Mark Stone gets a holding penalty for stopping the Swedish center.
(13:31): GOAL! Completely against the run of play, the Ottawa Senators take a lead! DeMelo took a slapshot, pad save by Campbell, and Tierney puts in the rebound. Chris Tierney gets a goal, Chabot and DeMelo get assists.
(15:07): Kings turn over the puck, Lewis skates in and Anderson saves and covers.
(15:48): Kempe goes for it again, this time Anderson turns it away with his glove.
(15:48): Kempe goes for it again, this time Anderson turns it away with his glove.
(16:28): Kempe breaks into the zone and his shot beats Anderson, but is stopped by the crossbar.
(17:09): Ottawa throw the puck on, Campbell covers.
(18:30): Senators get the first shot of the match in this contest, will we see the Kings outshot again?
The anthems are behind us here in Ottawa and the match is about to begin!
The anthems are behind us here in Ottawa and the match is about to begin!
Just minutes away from the puck drop now!
Dion Phaneuf returns to Ottawa after getting traded away last season for Marian Gaborik.
These are the predicted lines for Los Angeles Kings:
Forwards
Alex Iaffalo - Anze Kopitar - Ilya Kovalchuk
Tanner Pearson - Adrian Kempe - Tyler Toffoli
Jared Anderson-Dolan - Jeff Carter - Mike Amadio
Kyle Clifford - Nate Thompson - Trevor Lewis
Defensemen
Derek Forbort - Drew Doughty
Alec Martinez - Jake Muzzin
Dion Phaneuf - Paul LaDue
Goaltenders
Jack Campbell
Peter Budaj
The aforementioned Jonathan Quick is week-to-week with a lower-body injury, while Dustin Brown was moved to Long-Term Injury Reserve with his broken finger to make cap space for Peter Budaj to be called up.
The Kings moved for Ilya Kovalchuk in the offseason and the Russian veteran has repaid them with 3 points in 4 games. Drew Doughty was also signed to an eight-year, $88M extension.
Alex Iaffalo and Tyler Toffoli lead the team with 4 points in 4 games. More impressive than that, the performances of Campbell have been incredible, truly stepping up after Jonathan Quick got injured after the first game of the season. In 3 games, Campbell has 1.35 GAA and .966 save percentage.
The Los Angeles Kings are 2-1-1 early in this season and are halfway done with their Canadian road trip. In their last game, Jack Campbell shut out the Montreal Canadiens, saving 40 shots in a 3-0 win.
These are the predicted lines of Ottawa Senators:
Forwards
Brady Tkachuk - Zack Smith - Mark Stone
Mikkel Boedker - Matt Duchene - Colin White
Magnus Paajarvi - Chris Tierney - Bobby Ryan
Nick Paul - Tom Pyatt - Ben Harpur
Defensemen
Thomas Chabot - Dylan DeMelo
Mark Borowiecki - Chris Wideman
Maxime Lajoie - Christian Jaros
Goaltenders
Craig Anderson
Mike Condon
The Senators have a sizeable injury reserve, including Ryan Dzingel and Cody Ceci, as well as Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Alex Formenton, who will also miss the game against the Kings.
As far as the Senators offseason, they traded away two of their best players in Erik Karlsson and Mike Hoffman, receiving a not-so-great return.
The Ottawa Senators are entering their fifth game of the season with a rough 1-2-1 record, a possible indicator of how their season might go. Defenseman Thomas Chabot and recent acquisition Chris Tierney lead the team with 6 points, while rookie Brady Tkachuk is also off to a good start with 2 goals and an assist in 2 games.
Welcome to Vavel's coverage of today's game between the Ottawa Senators and Los Angeles Kings. My name is Jakub Bobro and I will guide you through everything you need to know before the game and the game itself once it rolls around at 11:00 AM Pacific time. Follow along for updates!