After a convincing win over a banged up Penguins squad, the Senators face a tough test tomorrow in the New York Rangers.
The Blueshirts are the top dogs in the East, have won five straight and just a single loss in their last 11 games. Meanwhile the Sens head into Thursday’s showdown with one regulation loss in their last 12 games. It will be two of league’s hottest teams going head to head under the bright lights of Broadway.
Meanwhile away from the ice, talk continues about what the Senators might do at the deadline.
Pierre LeBrun from ESPN spoke with Sens GM Bryan Murray about the team’s success this season and about the upcoming trade deadline. Murray indicated that while the plan remains to focus on building a solid foundation of young players, the Senators could be looking to add.
Straight from the horse’s mouth as they say.
Obviously a statement like this needs to come with the disclaimer that the Ottawa Senators are a budget team this season. They would love to add should they be in a playoff spot closer to the deadline but their options will be limited. It’s going to all depend on the salary number coming back to the Senators in a deal.
Another thing Murray will have to be extremely cautious of is upsetting the chemistry in the locker room. The Sens have a great mix right now and players all understand exactly what their role on the team is. A lot can and will change before the Trade Deadline but Murray has to be careful not to rock the boat.
Murray indicated that he would likely be looking to add a forward if he does make a move. A scoring left winger is likely at the top of his wish list.
- Tomorrow represents another chance for the Sens to get some retribution on Wojtek Wolski, who sidelined Captain Daniel Alfredsson with a questionable hit earlier this season. Only one problem- According to Ian Mendes, Wolski is expected to be a healthy scratch for the Rangers.
- The NHL will announce the remaining players for the NHL All Star Game to be played in Ottawa later this month. The list will include 36 more veterans and 12 additional rookies. Would not be surprised to see Jared Cowen included in the list of rookies that get the invite.
- NHL Central Scouting released their midterm rankings for the upcoming NHL Draft this morning. At the top of the list of North American skaters is Russian star Nail Yakupov. Swede Filip Forsberg is the top ranked international skater. You can go here to check out the full rankings.
- Sens are on the ice for practice this morning and apparently no sign of Erik Karlsson. Will have to till after practice for an update on his status but last night MacLean indicated that he expects Karlsson to play tomorrow.
