Having lost their first two games, the Ottawa Senators were back on the ice at the SensPlex this morning in preparation for their home opener tomorrow night.
It will be a special night in Ottawa as they welcome back members of the first year Ottawa Senators in the first of many theme nights in the club's 20th Anniversary Season.
Of course there will also be another welcome and it's one that won't get nearly as warm a reception. Dany Heatley will make his second visit to Scotiabank Place, this time as a member of the Minnesota Wild. Certainly don't expect as dramatic a reception as the last time Dany came to town but you can bet the boo's will rain down.
Ottawa will be looking to clean up some of the defensive lapses that have burned them in the first two games. Fans knew there would be some rough nights with a young and inexperienced defence core but right now it's the veterans that need to step up.
Sergei Gonchar has taken a beating in the comment section of this site and with good reason. His play with the puck has been decent but away from it he has been downright awful. His compete level needs to come way up or he could find himself watching from the sidelines.
Speaking of line up changes, it sounds like MacLean is still considering a couple to his line up. Butler and Rundblad were both scratched on Saturday in Toronto but could find their way back in to the mix on Tuesday. Add to that the fact that Regin looks close to a return and we could see a few changes to the Ottawa line up.
Here is how the Sens looked this morning…
- Greening-Spezza-Zibanejad
- Michalek-Da Costa-Butler
- Foligno-Regin-Neil
- Smith-Konopka-Condra
Daniel Alfredsson did not skate. He has been battling a head cold the past few days and took today to rest up. Filatov skated as the extra today and could end up being a scratch on Tuesday.
- Cowen-Gonchar
- Kuba-Karlsson
- Phillips-Rundblad
Rundblad was paired with Phillips and looks like he could take the place of Brian Lee.
