The Ottawa Senators are set to face-off against the Buffalo Sabres tonight. They are coming off the California road trip where they got just one out of six points.
The Ottawa Senators are in free fall, there is rumours surrounding trades for nearly everyone on the team. Now they face the team that is at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. If there was a team the Ottawa Senators could defeat right now it would be the Buffalo Sabres.
Forward
At forward there will likely be no changes made to lineup. This means the 12 forwards will be: Zack Smith, Derick Brassard, Mark Stone, Bobby Ryan, Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel, Mike Hoffman, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Gabriel Dumont, Alex Burrows, Nate Thompson, and Tom Pyatt.
Defence
On defence it was announced that Fredrik Claesson will return to the lineup. However, it has not been announced who the scratch will be. Karlsson and Phaneuf will definitely be in, but the scratch could be any one of Chabot, Oduya, Ceci, and Harpur.
Goal
Mike Condon will get the start in goal tonight. His last game was a poor performance against the Los Angeles Kings.
Next: Ottawa Senators Near Point Of No Return Versus Sharks
Getting Things Going
With the Ottawa Senators playing their divisional rivals, the Buffalo Sabres tonight, the pressure is on the for the Sens to pick up a win. With the Centennial Classic coming up against the Montreal Canadiens everyone in the organization would like to head into that weekend on a good note. They are up against one of the weakest teams in the league so they should have a decent chance.