With the Washington Capitals suddenly nipping at their heels, the Ottawa Senators kick off a crucial stretch of games tonight when they host the New Jersey Devils.
The Sens come into tonight’s action with 84 points, four clear of the Capitals and just three back of the sixth place New Jersey Devils. If the Senators are going to have a shot at moving up from the seventh spot, they have to find a way to beat the teams in front of them.
The Devils were in action last night and lost a physical affair to one of their biggest rivals, the New York Rangers. Jersey will also be playing their third game in four nights which means that a strong start will be important for the Senators.
They have to jump on a tired hockey team early on.
Jason Spezza and Matt Gilroy both missed practice yesterday for personal reasons but were back on the ice this morning. Chris Phillips was not on the ice but is expected to suit up against the Devils. Head Coach Paul MacLean was also absent at the morning skate but will be behind the bench.
Ottawa will make one change to the line up tonight, reinserting Zenon Konopka in the place of Bobby Butler. After watching how the Devils and Rangers kicked off their game last night, a little extra toughness might not be such a bad idea. Carkner and Daugavins are the other scratches.
Here is how the Sens are expected to line up.
Greening-Spezza-Michalek
Klinkhammer-Turris-Alfredsson
Konopka-Smith-Condra
Foligno-O'Brien-Neil
Kuba-Karlsson
Cowen-Gonchar
Phillips-Gilroy
Ben Bishop gets the start in the Ottawa goal while the Devils will counter with Johan Hedberg. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:30 PM with all the action available on Sportsnet and RDS. Keep an eye on the comment section for any online streams that become available.
