It has been an emotional couple weeks for the Ottawa Senators, both on the ice and away from the rink.
Last weekend, we learned about the devastating news facing Craig Anderson’s wife Nicholle. Whether it’s Nicholle Anderson, former General Manager Bryan Murray, PA announcer Stuntman Stu, Assistant Coach Mark Reeds, broadcaster Max Keeping, or Assistant Coach Roger Neilson, this organization has endured frequent reminders about the prevalence of this terrible disease.
And that’s why Hockey Fights Cancer Night at the Canadian Tire Centre will be an especially meaningful one.
There are a couple ways you can get involved:
- Text message SENS to 45678 for a $10 donation and SENATORS to 45678 for a $5 contribution. The NHL will match all generated funds up to a total of $5,000.
- Download an “I Fight For” card and show us for whom you are fighting and share it via social media using the hashtag #hockeyfightscancer.
All proceeds from Hockey Fights Cancer donations will be directed to the Sens Foundation in support of The Ottawa Hospital.
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On the ice, the Senators will be looking to extend their win streak to four games as they welcome Robin Lehner and the Buffalo Sabres.
It’s been sort of an up and down start for Buffalo. They come into this one with a 4-4-2 record including a 2-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night. Prior to that, the Sabres had won three straight. Buffalo has been strong defensively and in goal but offence has been a bit of an issue, as they’ve scored just 2.3 goals per game (25th in the league).
We’ll have to wait until game time to know exactly how the Sens will line up but there were some different combinations at practice the other day that may carry over to the game. Mark Stone missed the game the other night but seems like he’s good to go. Chris Wideman missed practice yesterday and is not expected to play.
Hoffman-Turris-Pyatt
Ryan-Brassard-Stone
Smith-Pageau-Dzingel
Puempel-Kelly-Neil
Methot-Karlsson
Phaneuf-Ceci
Claesson-Borowiecki
Craig Anderson gets the start in the Ottawa goal. Chris Driedger was sent back to Binghamton earlier this morning. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 PM.
-Some disappointing news yesterday afternoon as the federal government announced that despite the best efforts of all parties, an outdoor game on Parliament Hill just isn’t going to happen. The Senators and the City of Ottawa have been pushing for the idea for months now but the logistical hurdles have proven to be too much to overcome. Going to be interesting to see where the idea goes from here. The organization has said on a couple of occasions that it was the Hill or bust but I find it hard to believe that they’d pass on an outdoor game rather than just host it at TD Place.
