Tip: Ottawa Senators take on Vancouver Canucks in a Canadian duel!

Ottawa delivered a strong performance by defeating Toronto 6-3 away last night. It was a much-needed boost for the Senators who, despite mixed performances lately, often displayed high levels of play. Tonight, however, they face one of the toughest challenges in the league right now, the Vancouver Canucks, who are steaming ahead in the NHL with a series of victories!

Elias Pettersson and the Canucks Are a Force to Reckon With

It's hard to miss that Elias Pettersson, with his 21 points in 12 games, has been leading the way for Vancouver, who, after their recent victory over the Edmonton Oilers, now sits in second place in the Western Conference. Behind Pettersson, there are plenty of players also racking up their fair share of goals and assists. Defenseman Quinn Hughes leads the NHL defensemen with 5 goals and 15 assists in 12 games, and J.T. Miller has also delivered, accumulating 18 points. In short, many players on the Canucks are performing exceptionally well, and the once uncertain team with untapped potential seems to have fully blossomed.

Vancouver still occasionally leaves goaltender Demko a bit isolated, but like the rest of the team, the American seems to be playing with newfound confidence, allowing only 1.66 goals per game on average. In other words, most things are going right for the Canucks at the start of this season. The quality of tonight's opposition is high, but with the visiting team's confidence and an Ottawa playing back-to-back, I suspect Vancouver will push them really hard.

Rough Start for the Senators, But Quality Exists

Currently, the Ottawa Senators are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, but they won't stay there for long. The team, having undergone many changes in recent seasons, has put together a powerful squad full of talent. Despite their position in the standings, I still consider them a playoff team. As recently as last night, Ottawa put up a good performance, defeating Toronto 6-3, with a strong push in the third period bearing fruit. Until the final minutes of the game, it was a demanding match with Toronto chasing goals, so one might expect somewhat tired legs for the Senators in the match against Canucks.

Ottawa hasn't had quite the offensive production as Vancouver, but they have players leading the team here too. Brady Tkachuk, Claude Giroux, and Tim Stuzle, along with veteran Vladimir Tarasenko, top the internal points leaderboard and have carried the offense so far. Against Toronto, Kubalik also stepped up, scoring twice, showing good depth behind the top lines. The defense is solid too, though still a bit battered with Chabot still injured. Artem Zub has also missed much of the season and was out for the Toronto game but is close to rejoining the team.

Betting Tips and Conclusion

All in all, it's two good teams meeting at the Canadian Tire Centre, but Ottawa comes from a tough game against the Toronto Maple Leafs and is thus back-to-back, while Vancouver has had more rest. Ottawa's defense is still battered, and against a Vancouver playing their best hockey in decades, they are likely to face a tough challenge. Add to that Thatcher Demko in goal, who is currently like a wall, and it's hard not to lean towards the visiting team.

My betting tip is Vancouver Canucks +0 @ 1.90 at bet365!