(UPDATE 3:31 PM)- According to a tweet from @Rosenrasande, Andre Petersson will be called up from Binghamton and join the team tomorrow. With the Sens about to head out on a lengthy road trip, they would like to have an extra forward incase of injury. Petersson has 25 points in 30 AHL games this season.
The Ottawa Senators will look to continue their blistering pace when they play a rare home game against a sliding Winnipeg Jets squad.
The Sens won all three games on road swing that took them through Pittsburgh, New York and Montreal, outscoring the opposition by a combined score of 11-3 along the way. Tonight marks their last home game in the month of January.
The Jets have hit a bump in the road as of late, losing three straight and five of their last six. They currently sit 10th in the Eastern Conference, five points back of the final playoff spot. They’ve also been hit by injuries and could be without Dustin Byfuglien, Zach Bogosian and Blake Wheeler for this one. Needless to say, this is a huge game for them.
Meanwhile in Ottawa, the Senators have been rolling. The Sens sit fifth in the Eastern Conference and could actually leap frog the Boston Bruins for the Northeast lead with a win and a Bruins lost in Florida. Important to note the Bruins have five games in hand on the Senators.
With a week that includes stops in Toronto, San Jose and Anaheim, head coach Paul MacLean will go with Craig Anderson in goal tonight. No line up changes are expected for the Sens.
Greening-Spezza-Michalek
Condra-Turris-Alfredsson
Foligno-Smith-Neil
Daugavins-Konopka-Butler
Kuba-Karlsson
Cowen-Gonchar
Phillips-Carkner
Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:30 PM tonight with all the action available on Sportsnet and TVA Sports. Still a few tickets available for this one too so stop by Capital Tickets to get yours.
- It’s obviously a little early to start with Entry Draft talk but don’t be surprised if the Senators target a goalie at some point in this year’s entry draft. Robin Lehner is the future between the pipes but organizational depth isn’t great beyond that. Malcom Subban is the top ranked North American goalie according to the Central Scouting’s mid-term rankings, while World Junior standout Andrei Vasilevski tops the European list.
- Following up on his third star last week, Craig Anderson has been named the first star in the league this week. Anderson is 8-0-1 in his last nine starts, and has allowed just 15 goals over that stretch.
- The NHL is expected to announce the Captains for the NHL All Star Game at some point tomorrow. Daniel Alfredsson has to be a lock to get one of the spots while speculation has Dion Phaneuf in the other spot. The Battle of Ontario storyline would certainly add some intrigue to All Star Weekend.
- In case you missed it yesterday, be sure to check out this video a Sens fan put together on the team’s run to date. If that video doesn’t give you chills, might wanna check for a pulse.
