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.
The good news is he did skate in a regular sweater today which means he has been cleared for contact. Chris Neil spoke after practice and said he’s good to go. There is a chance he plays in Washington tomorrow night.
If MacLean does decide to insert Chris Neil, I would expect Bobby Butler to be the odd man out but we'll have to wait and see what the coach decided tomorrow.
Filip Kuba did not skate and is still considered as questionable for tomorrow night.
- As I’ve mentioned before, the Sens are expected to have a new scoreboard up at Scotiabank Place before the New Year. As a fan that attends almost every game, I can not tell you how excited I am about this. It will definitely add to the in-game experience and will look great on the organization with the NHL All Star Game here in late January.
- Defenceman Matt Carkner is in Binghamton for a conditioning stint and according to BSens beat reporter Joy Lindsay, is expected to play in a couple games this weekend and then again on Wednesday. Carkner will be paired with Patrick Wiercioch when the Binghamton Senators take on the Manchester Monarchs tonight.
- While on the subject of Bingo, the Senators have traded a 7th round pick for Rob Klinkhammer from the Chicago Blackhawks organization. Klinkhammer quickly assumes the title of best name in the organization.
- The Derick Brassard rumours continue to float around but as I’ve said before here and on Twitter, money is an obstacle. The Sens would love to add Brassard as a second line centre but will have trouble taking on his contract which comes in at a cap hit of $3.2 mil for the next couple seasons. Make no mistake about it, the Ottawa Senators are on a budget this season, so if a deal is going to be struck, some money will have to go Columbus’s way. With Ottawa’s blueline about to become very crowded, I would speculate that Murray and the Sens are trying to include a defenceman in a deal.
