On a night where the NHL announced the league would switch to a new four conference format, the Sens welcomed their expansion cousins and new conference rival with a comeback win at Scotiabank Place.

Tonight's 4-2 win pulls the Sens back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture with a 13-11-3 record.

The Ottawa Senators have finally returned to Scotiabank Place

Aside from a brief stop in town last Sunday, the Sens have been on the road for the better part of a month. Tonight they begin a crucial stretch of home games against Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

After a disappointing overtime setback at the hands of the Washington Capitals, the Ottawa Senators finished a grueling stretch of games away from Scotiabank Place.

The Sens have played 9 of 10 on the road but have done a good job staying competitive over that stretch.  Ottawa posted a very respectable 5-3-2 record in their last ten outings and have kept themselves in the mix in the Eastern Conference.

Coming off a disappointing loss at the hands of the Dallas Stars, the Ottawa Senators will visit Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.

Tonight marks the end of a three game road trip for the Sens who return home after the game to begin a stretch that will see them play 9 of 13 at Scotiabank Place during the month of December.

After a tough loss in Dallas last night, the Senators were back on the practice ice in Washington this afternoon, in preparation for tomorrow night’s tilt with the Washington Capitals.

The Caps are 0-2 under new bench boss Dale Hunter and should be a hungry team on Saturday night. Chris Neil is getting closer to a return to the line up but did not skate on a regular line.

For about two and a half minutes of the third period, it looked like the Sens were going to steal two points from a strong home ice team but it wasn't meant to be. 

The Dallas Stars, who were quiet most of the night, rallied with two third period goals from Radek Dvorak and Eric Nystrom and stole two points away from the Ottawa Senators. The loss drops the Sens to 12-11-2 on the season.

(UPDATE 4:58 PM)- Defenceman Matt Carkner, who has yet to play this season due to a knee injury, has been sent to Binghamton of the AHL on a conditioning stint.  Obviously the Sens don't want to rush Carkner into an NHL game and with the logjam on the blueline, they can afford to give him sometime in Bingo

The Ottawa Senators are 24 games into their 20th season in the NHL and it's safe to say this has been a fairly surprising season to date.

Projected by many to be near the bottom of the standings (note that's not where I had them), the Sens have managed to stay in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference and for a rebuilding team, the first quarter of the season has to be considered a success.