The month of December has not been kind to the Ottawa Senators.
They come into tonight’s battle with the Buffalo Sabres sporting an ugly 1-3-2 record which has seen them slide to 12th in the Eastern Conference. The good news is with the standings as tight as they are, a win tonight could vault them right back into a playoff position.
Meanwhile things have not been much better for the Sabres. They have a 3-5-2 record in their past ten and are coming off a 4-1 loss at the hands of the New York Rangers. Buffalo is in the middle of a five game homestand which raps up with the Sens in town tonight and the Leafs on Friday. The Sabres have an impressive 8-3-2 record on the road this season but have struggled at home, posting a 7-9-2 record.
The Sabres and Senators meet again a week from now at SBP.
A banged up blueline continues to plague the Sens. Both Filip Kuba and Sergei Gonchar will be sidelined for the Sens tonight which means MacLean will continue to lean on a young and inexperienced blueline. Here is how the Sens will line up.
Greening-Spezza-Michalek
Foligno-Regin-Alfredsson
Condra-Smith-Neil
Daugavins-Winchester-Konopka
Cowen-Karlsson
Phillips-Rundblad
Lee-Carkner
Yesterday, Paul MacLean said that Craig Anderson will get the start in the Ottawa goal. Puck drop is just after 7:00 PM tonight with all the action available on Rogers Sportsnet and TVA Sports. Keep an eye on the comment section for stream.
- I’m sure by this point most of you have already done your part and cast multiple ballots for Daniel Alfredsson and the other Ottawa Senators. Well keep it up! Don’t be afraid to recruit your friends and family and toss in the odd alternate email address while you’re at it! Alfredsson has been on the record saying just how much it would mean to him to play in that game. After all the Captain has done for this team and this city, it’s time for us to return the favour. VOTE VOTE VOTE!!
- Interesting piece on Craig Anderson's new heritage theme mask that features a tribute to Clint Benedict, a former Senator and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Anderson will debut the mask tomorrow against the Bruins.
- Information has been hard to come by on injured Sens prospect Patrick Wiercioch but it's good to hear that he is in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery. Interesting comment from Friedman in his 30 thoughts piece where he says, "When we do find out more, sounds like we're going to learn that Binghamton trainer Glen Kinney is a real hero in this story." The Binghamton Senators announced today that Patrick was released from hospital and is at home in Binghamton.
