Three games to go until the holiday break.
On the heels of a road loss against a tough Washington team on Wednesday night, the Ottawa Senators return home for a rare Friday night game at the Canadian Tire Centre against the San Jose Sharks. Following tonight’s game they’ll head back to Florida for games against two Atlantic Division opponents.
The Lightning on Sunday night and the Panthers on Tuesday. Three important games for the Senators as they continue to fight for a spot in the top three in the Division.
I find tonight’s opponent, the San Jose Sharks, to be one of the strangest teams in the NHL. For the last few seasons now they seem like an organization that isn’t quite sure what they want to be. Are they a contending team trying to make one last push for a title? Are they a rebuilding team, committed to a youth movement for the next few years. Right now, they seem like a bit of both. They’ve been a tad inconsistent to start this year (16-14-1) but they do currently sit second in the Pacific Division.
And it’s their success on the road that’s a big a reason they hold a playoff spot in the Western Conference. They lead the entire National Hockey League with 12 road wins, including a dramatic win in Toronto last night. This is a pretty tough back to back for the Sharks though and a good opportunity for the Sens to get the jump on a possibly tired opponent.
After benching Cowen for the majority of the second and third period on Wednesday night, it looks like Dave Cameron has finally decided to send Cowen to the press box for a game. Mark Borowiecki spent the morning skate on a pairing with Chris Wideman. With Borowiecki back on defence, Shane Prince was back among the top 12 forwards, skating on a line with Curtis Lazar and Chris Neil.
The line up will remain a bit of a mystery until puck drop though as Cameron suggested a few guys are a little bit banged up and may not be able to go. We’ll find out for sure a little closer to game time. Here’s how they lined up at the morning skate.
Smith-Turris-Stone
Hoffman-Zibanejad-Ryan
Dziurzynski-Pageau-Chiasson
Prince-Lazar-Neil
Methot-Karlsson
Wiercioch-Ceci
Borowiecki-Wideman
Craig Anderson returns to the Ottawa goal. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:30 PM.
