Michael Haley | Senators are strong against Canadians

Guillaume Lefrancois
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The Ottawa Senators head coach said he will call strongman Michael Haley for the game against the Canadians on Tuesday afternoon.

Hayley, 34, has 11 goals, 21 assists and 692 penalty minutes in 273 NHL games. This season, he played three games in which he averaged 5:56 on ice.

Two of the three games he played were against the Canadians on February 21 and 23, and Smith praised his presence.

“In the matches we played without him, they targeted our young talented players (they took the liberty, he said in English). When he was playing, he knew his character, he had little time to play, and he’s very good on the bench.”

It was made on February 4 during the first Canadian-Senators duel. It was in this match that Alexander Romanov lost to Thomas Chabot. In addition to receiving some shoulder strikes from Romanov, Tim Stetzel was also harassed by Jeff Petrie. Corey Perry also attacked Brady Takachuk, but the next man was capable of defending himself. He showed it to Ben Chiarot on February 23.

Smith makes two more changes to his list. The most important thing is on target: Matt Murray gets a day off after the senators start the last seven games. Joey Dockard will be the opening goalie. This will only be his second NHL start, another on April 4, 2019. Dockard has only played one season in the NHL this season and two games in the American League. He allowed 10 goals in those two games.

Note that Murray deserves to complete the rest. Philip Gustavson will be in uniform as Dacard’s assistant.

In defense, young Eric Bronstrom replaces celebrity Brighton Coburn.

The Senators have won three of their four games with the Hobbs this season.

See you next year

Earlier on Tuesday, senators announced that Derek Stephen’s season was over. The 30-year-old center has displaced his left shoulder and will need surgery next week. Injured on 23 February against Canadian.

Stepan, who received the Arizona Coyotes last December, scored 6 points in 20 games and a -6 rating. He averages 15 minutes per game.