Aujourd’hui, the Ottawa Senators face the Montreal Canadiens in a test for the young Sens. Montreal is coming off a 3-2 win over the Panthers but tonight Scott Gomez, Mike Cammalleri, and the Kostitsyn Brothers won’t be playing. Brian Gionta and Tomas Plekanec however will. The Habs were winning 3-0 in the third period when the defense came apart and let 2 quick goals. Lucky for the Habs it was too late for the complete comeback. The Sens lineup tonight will be…
Michalek – Spezza – Alfredsson
Zubov – Regin – Winchester
Kelly – Z. Smith – Neil
Schubert – Bass – Yablonski
Cowen – Campoli
Carkner – Picard
Kinrade – Lee
LeClaire
Lehner
I really think this will be a fun game to watch for Sens fans. I will be in the stands for this one but Ottawa residents can see the game on RDS. That top line might be the one that starts the season so tonight should be a measuring stick for those 3. This also might be the last chance for Regin and Zubov to prove their lineup-worthy. Zack Smith has recently faded away and even Coach Clouston said he needs to get his game on. Those three will likely start in Binghamton this year. Jeremy Yablonski has been turning some heads, including mine. He is a HUGE wildcard of making this team but somewhere down the line I can see it happening. The defense tonight features the debut of Jared Cowen, the 2009 1st rounder of the Sens. There is no real defensive defenseman tonight with the exception of Matt Carkner, so LeClaire will have to pick up the slack.
This is essentially a battle of A- teams. While Montreal’s defense will shatter Ottawa’s, our offense beats them tonight. While the favorite might be Montreal…
Ottawa 4(Alfredsson, Winchester, Neil, Campoli) Montreal 3(Hamrlik, Moen, Plekanec)
Pre-Season Record: 1-1
That dump with the Panthers seems done for now but Murray would like to complete one more move before the season starts. The big name out there is Brandon Dubinsky who would fill the Second Line Centre position. Glen Sather wants to sign him but if he can’t, you can bet your loonies he’s outta New York. Sather might want some prospects + picks in return but because of the weighted salary Murray would have to force his hand to take another forward. Sather got burned by Murray durign the Heatley process so the question is if he will be willing to talk to him. However, I think Dubinsky will join the Sens in 2-3 days.
To Ottawa: Brandon Dubinsky, Patrick Rissmiller
To New York: Chris Kelly, Ilya Zubov, Cody Bass, Vitaly Anikeyenko
What’dya think? GO SENS GO!