The Senators through 20 games at Canadian Tire Centre have only recorded "one full house (capacity: 18,572), and that’s when 20,011 turned out to see Daniel Alfredsson’s No. 11 raised to the rafters," according to Don Brennan of the OTTAWA CITIZEN. The Alfredsson tribute "bumped average attendance to 15,688, which means an average of just under 3,000 unsold tickets per game." On some nights, attendance has been "especially embarrassing, like 11,061 for the season’s third home game" against the Coyotes. Six other nights have seen "more than 4,000 empty seats." But things "should turn around in the final 21 games, with the Senators in the playoff hunt and a January that offers a number of marquee attractions." The schedule this month "couldn't be any more enticing." The Senators will play eight home games, including matchups against the Capitals (Alexander Ovechkin), Oilers (Connor McDavid) Penguins (Sidney Crosby) and the Maple Leafs (Auston Matthews). The Senators have a "real problem" if they "fail to draw bigger crowds" this month (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 1/9).
