Big Dates On Your Ottawa Senators 2011-2012 Schedule

Your Ottawa Senators released their 2011-2012 schedule a few weeks ago and with 69 days till training camp begins and 87 days till the season kicks off, let’s take a look at a few of the big dates on the schedule.

Pre-Season

Pre-Season kicks off September 19th as Ottawa takes on Toronto in T.O. With Ottawa expected to have a very competitive camp, look for training camp to be a battle as many spots are up for grabs. Ottawa will have seven pre-season game (three home dates – Sept. 21, 23, and 27) and will end their pre-season schedule on September 29th.

Opening Night

Ottawa will drop the puck on the new season October 7th in Detroit versus the Red Wings. New head coach Paul MacLean will return to his old stomping grounds to take on his former team. With Ottawa trying to mold themselves into Detroit-East, this game should be a great test to see how Ottawa stacks up against the benchmark team of the league.

Battle of Ontario

The Battle of the Basement Ontario gets started on game two of the season as Ottawa travels to Toronto for game one of the series. Hopefully newly acquired Sen Zenon Konopka will introduce himself to some of the Leafs. Game two of the series will go Oct. 30th in Ottawa; Game three and four will be on Nov. 12th and Jan. 17th in Toronto respectively; Game five will be on Feb. 4th in Ottawa; and the BoO will end this season’s edition on St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th) in Ottawa on a Saturday night. It’ll be interesting to see if this rivalry regains some of its intensity.

Home Opener / The Hated One Returns

October 11th will be the night when Sens Army gets to cheer its team on home ice for the first time of the 2011-2012 season. In a funny/weird/awesome/coincidentally twist, the “Hated One” Dany Heatley will be in Ottawa to help usher in the new season. Traded this off-season, Heatley will suit up for the Minnesota Wild against Ottawa in their home opener. What a great way to kick off the new campaign.

JETS

For all you long lost Winnipeg fans, the Jets will play their first game in the nations capital on October 20th. Should be fun to see how many Jets jersey’s will be in the crowd that night. Ottawa will visit Winnipeg on November 29th.

The Champs

Ottawa will get to test themselves against the Champs as they play Boston on November 1st in Beantown. With the Bruins bringing back most of their Stanley Cup winning team, it will be a tough task for the young Ottawa squad.

Sid the Kid

Ottawa takes on Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on November 25th in Steel town. Hopefully Sid is back on the ice by then and maybe somebody can finally pay back Kris Letang for his hit on Jason Spezza.

New Year’s Eve

Ottawa will battle the capped-out Buffalo Sabres on December 31st to ring in the new year. With the game in Buffalo, it’ll be a good night to watch the game, and then go out and celebrate with a few pops.

All-Star Weekend

Your Ottawa Senators will celebrate their 20th anniversary as they will host the 2012 All-Star Weekend. The festivities kick off on January 27th with the Fantasy Draft, the Skills Competition will go on the 28th, and then the game will be on the 29th. Get your tickets Sens fans.

Mr. Underwood

Mike Fisher and the Nashville Predators will be in town on February 9th. It will mark the first time Sens Army will see Fisher in a jersey besides Ottawa’s for the first time on Scotiabank ice.

Blackhawk Down

The Chicago Blackhawks will make their only trip to Ottawa on March 2nd. Its always exciting to see an original six team in town, and especially a team like Chicago as their visits to Ottawa are rare.

The Closer

The last game of the year will be in New Jersey against the Devils on April 7th. Will this be the last game of the year for Ottawa? Only time will tell.

What games are you excited for?

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