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Gameday: Senators Host Rangers at Scotiabank Place

November 9, 2011, 3:20 PM ET [ Comments]
Travis Yost
Ottawa Senators Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
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In the midst of a three-game losing streak, the Ottawa Senators are hopeful that a little home cooking before a lengthy road trip can help end the slide. The challenge comes in the form of the red-hot New York Rangers, who have surged into respectability with a four-game winning streak of their own.

The last battle between these two teams is well documented. Big, game-changing hits in the form of Zenon Konopka on Artem Anisimov and Wojtek Wolski and Daniel Alfredsson have set the stage for what should be a physical affair. The latter hit, in particular, is sure to draw a line in the proverbial sand. Neither Wojtek Wolski(IR) or Daniel Alfredsson(concussion via WW's hit) will skate today, so expect intensity from other willing combatants to increase tenfold.

Quick side note - good news coming out of Ottawa regarding Daniel Alfredsson's status. It appears he's passed his baseline test, and could return as early as this weekend. I'll have more on this later.

Perhaps the exclamation point of the last tilt, though, was Ottawa's thrilling three-goal comeback at Madison Square Garden, leaving the New York Rangers absolutely shell-shocked. And yet, New York was able to parlay that tough home loss into a nice little winning streak of late. Conversely, Ottawa's exhilarating win has been almost marginalized by this three-game slide with their captain on the mend.

With a number of players injured on both sides, lineup changes were expected. On the New York side, Sean Avery and Andre Deveaux will again draw in on Erik Christensen's wing. In Ottawa, the one - and I believe largely welcomed - change is David Rundblad's return to the lineup, skating with Chris Phillips. Expect Brian Lee to sit up in the press box tonight. On the fourth line, Zenon Konopka will skate with Nikita Filatov down in Binghamton.

In goal, it'll be the two familiar faces - Henrik Lundqvist for New York and Craig Anderson for Ottawa. Lundqvist's 4-3-3 on the year, with a .929 save percentage and 2.27 GAA. Anderson's 6-4-1 this season, with an .888 save percentage and 3.50 GAA.

For Ottawa, tonight is pivotal. Awaiting them is a month away from Scotiabank Place, with just one exception coming in the form of a November 27th tilt against the Carolina Hurricanes. Yes, the schedule makers were quite cruel.

Puck drops at 7:30 PM ET on TSN.

New York Rangers

Brandon Dubinsky – Brad Richards (A) – Ryan Callahan (C)
Artem Anisimov – Derek Stepan – Marian Gaborik
Ruslan Fedotenko – Brian Boyle – Brandon Prust
Sean Avery – Erik Christensen – Andre Deveaux

Ryan McDonagh – Dan Girardi (A)
Mike Sauer – Michael Del Zotto
Jeff Woywitka – Steve Eminger

Ottawa Senators
Colin Greening – Jason Spezza – Milan Michalek
Nick Foligno – Stephane Da Costa – Bobby Butler
Kaspars Daugavins – Zack Smith – Chris Neil
Jesse Winchester – Zenon Konopka – Erik Condra

Filip Kuba – Erik Karlsson
Jared Cowen – Sergei Gonchar
Chris Phillips – David Rundblad

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