The Sens opened the home preseason schedule in style with an overtime victory in front of more than 16,000 fans at Scotiabank Place.
Mika Zibanejad ripped a one-timer past Tuukka Rask to give the Sens a 2-1 overtime victory over a team dressed up as the Stanley Cup Champions and in the process picked up their first win of the preseason.
Both teams were without some important players which resulted in a struggle to generate much in the way of quality scoring chances for most of the night. The scoreboard showed the Sens had more than 30 shots but I don't know that there were too many quality chances.
Brian Lee hasn't been talked about a whole lot heading into this year but he was one of the team's best defenceman in the back half of last season and seems to have picked up right where he left off. Lee notched a couple points and looked confident with the puck all night
Lee seems ready to solidify his spot on the team's blueline this season.
Also liked what I saw from Sergei Gonchar in his preseason debut. He never really looked comfortable in his first season in Ottawa but certainly got off on the right foot last night. Showed a lot more poise with the puck than he did on most nights last year.
First game at SBP this season and I was once again reminded why this team needs a new scoreboard. I don't have the greatest vision but I could barley see anything they were showing on there. The organization continues to play coy on the subject but I don't see how they can have an All Star game here without upgrading that screen. With that said, the in-game experience has definitely been ramped up this year.
Better music, improved food selection and a variety of in-game entertainment have all made for a better overall experience.
Sens are back in action tomorrow night when they host the Montreal Canadiens. Jason Spezza is expected to see his first action of the preseason.
- You could tell that was a big goal for Zibanejad. He was actually fairly quiet for most of the game but to get the OT winner was huge for him. It's still early but I get the sense they want him to start the year in Ottawa.
- It's interesting that Matt Carkner hasn't made it into a game yet. Would assume he plays on Friday, unless there is an injury there that they aren't discussing.
