Twenty-four hours after grinding out a win against the lowly Winnipeg Jets, the Senators are right back at it against a team battling for a Western Conference Wild Card spot.
The Minnesota Wild come into this one holding down the second Wild Card spot in the West. They come into tonight with a comfortable five point cushion over the sputtering Colorado Avalanche. It’s a race that was a whole lot tighter just two weeks ago but a six game winning streak has given the Wild a little bit of breathing room.
Next to maybe the St. Louis Blues, they’ve probably been the hottest team in the National Hockey League. Still think they’ll be in tough come playoff time but team’s that go into the playoffs at the top of their game are always dangerous.
Should make for a tough test for the Senators especially in a back to back situation.
Two changes for Dave Cameron’s group heading into this one as Scott Gomez draws in for the injured Mark Stone and Ben Harpur makes his NHL debut, taking the place of Mike Kostka. No morning skate for the Senators this morning but a best guess at their line up for this one.
Smith-Pageau-Ryan
Hoffman-Zibanejad-Puempel
Paul-Lazar-Chiasson
Dzingel-Gomez-Neil
Claesson-Karlsson
Methot-Ceci
Harpur-Wideman
Craig Anderson gets the start in the Ottawa goal. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 8:00 PM.
