Game P7/8 Preview-New York Islanders @ Ottawa Senators

The Senators will wrap up their pre season tonight as they play host to the New york Islanders and they play host to the New York Islanders. That is not a typo, The Senators and Islanders will conclude what seemed like a never ending exhibition schedule tonight in a split squad game. Both games will be played in Ontario; Barrie Ontario’s Barrie Molson Center will host 1/2 and the other game will be played at The Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa (Kanata).

Mar 19, 2013; Uniondale, NY, USA; Ottawa Senators celebrates a goal during the third period against the New York Islanders at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Ottawa won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

(4-2-0)

vs

(2-3-0)

Canadian Tire Centre/Barrie Molson Centre

7:30pm/6:00pm EST

TV: Rogers 22

Radio: Team1200

Last Meeting: 

The last time these two teams hooked up you have to go back to March 19/2013 where The Senators rallied past The Islanders 5-3 in the regular season contest. Three of Ottawa’s 5 goal scorers that night are no longer Senators including: Jakob Silfverberg, Sergei Gonchar and Guillaume Latendresse.

Last Games:

• The Senators dressed their C squad at best in the last 3-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. This game Cory Conacher solidified his spot in the top-6 forward group as he was the lone Senators goal scorer and the only player that really stood out for the Sens.
• The New York Islanders dressed a near full NHL caliber line-up as they knocked off the Nashville Predators 6-4 at home, a game that saw new captain John Tavares score twice.

Top 3 Storylines:

1. Tough Luck- The split contest at the end of both teams schedule has delayed the process of officially announcing their final rosters and created some difficulty around practicing and preparing for the regular season. It will be interesting to see if either of these teams can hit the ground running to start the games that count

2. Return of The Regin. Peter Regin will make his first unofficial appearance as an ex-Senator and new Islander. Peter Regin always showed flashes of high calliper skill but could never stay healthy enough to convert his skill into any significant production at the NHL level.

3. Injury Free- These split squad games will wrap up the long exhibition season for both respected squads and while both will want to test certain elements of their games out, winning on the scoreboard is not nearly as significant as staying healthy entering the regular season. From a Sens perspective, last season was scary enough. It’s clear Milan Michalek (kneeds) Jason Spezza (back) and if that isn’t a shot in the (groin) new Senator, Bobby Ryan certainly doesn’t want to get the cold (shoulder). Ok enough with the word-play, this/these game(s) is/are meaningless and therefore fingers are crossed that all key players stay healthy heading into the actual competition.

Parting Shots:

The Senators will kiss the CTC goodbye after tonight’s split squad match-ups as they prepare for a 6 game road trip to begin the season. Both squads kick off the regular season on October 4 that will hopefully allow them to work with their actual rosters which will most likely be announced tomorrow.