Thursday will be Country Night at Canadian Tire Centre, where both the Senators and Red Wings could inspire a few heartbreak songs.
The Detroit Red Wings and the Ottawa Senators are among the NHL leaders in a category no one wants any part of. They stand second and third for most consecutive years without a playoff appearance. Detroit is at eight years, the Senators are at seven, and despite all of their off-season changes and high expectations, neither club seems ready to end their spectacularly grim runs.
When the two clubs play tonight in Ottawa, Dylan Larkin will be the only player in the game with the memory of ever playing in a playoff game for his current team. He was 19 in 2016, still learning from Detroit greats like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, holdovers from the glory years.
No one remains from the Sens' last playoff run in 2017.
Detroit is 10-11-4, good for a .480 point percentage. They're three points and five teams out of the final Eastern wild card spot. Ottawa is 10-12-2, with a .458 point percentage. They're five points and eight teams out of the final wild card.
Country Pizza Night: It's fitting that it's Country Night at the CTC, because both teams could inspire a heartbreak song or two.
It's also the ceremonial reunion of The Pizza Line. When you consider the contentious ways that Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza, and Daniel Alfredsson left the Senators (and let's go ahead and throw Alex DeBrincat into that mix), you could also drag out some old-school country breakup songs.
But tonight is about olive branches and fresh starts. Alfie got his a long time ago after signing in Detroit for his final season. Spezza and Heatley, who both asked to be traded, never had anything against the city or its fans. All three of them, as we would learn more completely in the coming years, were playing for a highly dysfunctional organization.
2020 Vision: It's an interesting battle on Thursday night between Tim Stützle and Lucas Raymond, selected third and fourth overall at the talent-laden 2020 NHL Draft. Stützle leads the Senators with 30 points in 24 games, while Raymond leads all Red Wings with 27 points in 25 games.
Stützle will also see a steady diet of Detroit's Moritz Seider, one of the best young defensemen in the game and one of Stützle's closest friends.
Game time is 7 pm at Canadian Tire Centre (TSN5, RDSI).