After impressive road efforts in Calgary and Edmonton, the Ottawa Senators will be looking to complete the rare Western Canada sweep when they visit the defending Western Conference Champs.
The Vancouver Canucks come into this one with a 9-9-1 record and are on the outside looking in playoff picture out West.
The Canucks have been extremely underwhelming in the early going but are certainly not a team to be taken lightly. Daniel and Henrik Sedin can break a game open on their own and both find themselves in the top 15 in league scoring coming into this one.
The problem for Vancouver has been the inconsistent play of Roberto Luongo. In 13 starts, Luongo has posted a 2.97 GAA and an ugly .896 SV%. With Luongo fighting a little bit of an injury, it should come as no surprise that the Canucks will turn to back-up Cory Schneider in this one.
Ottawa is not expected to make any changes to the line up which means rookie defenceman David Rundblad will once again watch from the press box. I understand that it's tough to mess with a winning line up but Rundblad needs to be playing games. Would not be surprised to see him end up in Binghamton for a bit once Matt Carkner is healthy enough to return.
Here is how the Sens should line up…
Greening-Spezza-Michalek
Foligno-DaCosta-Alfredsson
Daugavins-Smith-Condra
Konopka-Winchester-Butler
Kuba-Karlsson
Phillips-Gonchar
Cowen-Lee
Don't be surprised to see MacLean shuffle the pairings on the back end a little bit depending on the situation.
If Ottawa can turn in an effort like we saw against the Flames and Oilers, they should give the Canucks all they can handle. Top priority for Paul MacLean's group will be staying out of the box. The Canucks boast the NHL's number one power play and will bury you if given the chance. And while Ottawa's PK has been better as of late, best not to tempt fate against the Canucks.
The Sens have four days off after this one and would love to close out the Western swing on a high note. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 9:00 PM on SportsNet and TVA. Keep an eye on the comment section for a stream.
