After a few days off for the holiday break, the Ottawa Senators return to action tonight when they play host to the Montreal Canadiens.
The Sens come into the game holding on to the 8th and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference. A win over a struggling Canadiens team could move the Sens past the 6th place Toronto Maple Leafs who are in Florida tonight.
The situation in Montreal is bad and getting worse.
The Habs have lost five straight and interim head coach Randy Cunneyworth is getting a pretty rough ride in that city. I understand the issue with not having a Francophone coach in that market but it must be nearly impossible for the Former-Sens captain to get through to his team right now.
With that said, the Habs are a desperate group and will certainly be no push-over.
The Sens will get a huge boost tonight from the return of the team's leading goal scorer. Milan Michalek passed his baseline concussion tests prior to the break and is ready to return to the line up. Doesn't sound like MacLean plans to ease him back into the line up either. Michalek skated on the top line with Spezza and Alfredsson at yesterday's practice.
While Michalek returns, Jesse Winchester remains sidelined with a concussion. Still no time frame for his return but he certainly won't play before the New Year. The Sens will also be without Chris Phillips. He is day to day with what the team is calling a minor injury.
Here is how the Senators will line up tonight…
Michalek-Spezza-Alfredsson
Foligno-Turris-Butler
Greening-Smith-Neil
Condra-Konopka-Daugavins
Cowen-Karlsson
Kuba-Gonchar
Lee-Carkner
Craig Anderson gets the start in goal.
For those lucky enough to attend the game tonight, should be fun to see that new scoreboard in action. While there are still some elements that need to be added before it's fully operational, it's going to be a massive improvement over the old board.
Puck drop is just after 7:30 PM tonight with all the action available on Sportsnet and RDS. Keep an eye on the comment section for a stream.
- Huge night for Sens prospects last night. Mark Stone scored three times for Canada in the tournament opener, Zibanejad scored twice for the Swedes and Stephane Da Costa scored three times in an 8-3 Binghamton Senators win.
- Sens Super Skills goes tomorrow at SBP. If you haven't had a chance to attend once of these events before, it really is great fun for family with tickets starting as low as $8. Visit Capital Tickets for more information.
