Tony Tuesdays

Ownership may finally be attempting to warm up to fans in Ottawa.

As per The Senators Official Twitter (@EHESENS), the team announced that all remaining home games will feature half price pizza, and are hereby known as “Tony Tuesdays”. This sparked both excitement, and criticism, as exhibited below.

An unknown source in the organization shed some light on the sad reality. 

“The people love Tony Cirelli, and they love pizza, it rolls off the tongue. More importantly? It’s cheap and it's infrequent. How many more Tuesday night home games do we even have? This one came straight from Eugene.” The source said.

The announcement comes in lieu of The Sens early success (14-7-5), along with catalyst Anthony Cirelli, and his contributions to the cause (26GP,15G,17A,32PTS +11).

While the results so far have been considered a success (14-7-5), it is still early. Ottawa is a long ways away from securing a playoff spot in the tightly contested corridors of the North Division and Eastern Conference. Outside of a 4 game skid, and a 5 game win streak, things have been mostly consistent.

The Ottawa power play has been a bright spot, currently sitting 7th in the EHE at 22.5%. The penalty kill however, is 3rd last in the league at 73%. If the penalty kill units can improve, it will certainly bode well for The Senators chances to remain in a playoff spot. 

Ottawa will also need continued production from the top line of Cirelli, Bailey, and Granlund. Up front, the Sens have relied heavily on their top line, along with their top 3 centers in Cirelli Pageau and Backlund. Number one Defenseman Keith Yandle is buzzing offensively with 26 points in 26 games. Starting netminder Robin Lehner has carried a heavy workload (11-7-4), helping earn some big wins, and gain precious extra OTL points. Lehner’s overall performance however, has been below expectations, currently sporting a .895 Sv%, while having yet to record a shutout.

With what is shaping up to a be a close and comepetitive push for the playoffs, could Ottawa look to improve their roster via trade? The organization seems keen on pursuing a playoff spot, and the move of Seabrook to Montreal would certainly suggest it, opening up roughly $6 million in cap space.

“There is enough here in terms of our prospect pool, that we can afford to make a push to improve the depth chart and better our chances of competing this season. It's a quiet market however, and although we have quality futures to dangle, i'm not sure you can count the sellers in our league on one hand."

"I like what I see so far, but the biggest tests are yet to come.”

The Sens next test will arrive in short order, as Ottawa is set to host The Sharks on day 61 Saturday evening.

Full price pizza.