24th place in the league takes on 26th in a Saturday night showdown between two of the most disappointing teams in the Eastern Conference tonight at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Both the Ottawa Senators and the Columbus Blue Jackets had playoff aspirations when the season started back in October but neither is in the mix as we hit the 50 game mark.
The pro-tankers among us will certainly be a little conflicted watching this one. Or maybe not conflicted at all. A Blue Jackets regulation victory combined with a Leafs win (can you imagine?) over the Edmonton Oilers, would mean the Ottawa Senators drop to 26th overall. Things are getting pretty bunched up at the bottom of the standings so each win and loss can mean a couple spots in the standings.
Alex Chiasson is ready to return to the Ottawa line up which ends up being bad news for Jean Gabriel Pageau who will be a healthy scratch. With Pageau out, Curtis Lazar shifts back to centre. Cameron will also make a couple changes on his blueline. Chris Phillips hit the Big Rig Gold pretty hard the other night and is still trying to shake the hangover. He’ll sit this one out. Same goes for Patrick Wiercioch.
Here’s how Cameron has his team lined up at the morning skate.
MacArthur-Zibanejad-Ryan
Michalek-Turris-Stone
Hoffman-Lazar-Chiasson
Condra-Legwand-Neil
Methot-Karlsson
Cowen-Ceci
Borowiecki-Gryba
Robin Lehner gets another start in the Ottawa goal. Craig Anderson wasn’t on the ice at the morning skate although Cameron suggested he may be able to travel with the team next week. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 PM.
-Chris Neil is one of the most talked about trade options for the Senators leading up to the deadline but his “no-trade” list may end up having some impact on whether or not he gets dealt in the next few weeks. The list, which apparently includes 15 teams that he can not be traded to, has slowly been revealed over the last couple days. So far we know the St. Louis Blues, the New York Rangers and the Winnipeg Jets are on there. Still think the Nashville Predators make a lot of sense.
