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After a rather lengthy stint away from the confines of Scotiabank Place, the Ottawa Senators have returned home with a rather surprising 12-11-3 record, all things considered. A lengthy homestand normally yields positive results, but Paul MacLean and the coaching staff knows full well that they'll have to play absolutely perfect hockey through this stretch to stay alive in the Eastern Conference.
Ottawa's set to play nine of the next thirteen games at home, but the grueling stretch that is ten games in nineteen days leading up to the Christmas holiday is of real concern. Tonight's opener against Tampa Bay is the first of many tests for a young Ottawa Senators team, who will run a ten-game gauntlet against a collective 133-106-24 record. In short - it's time to sack up and protect home ice against some of the best in the business.
Oddly enough, Monday night's tilt against the Tampa Bay Lightning might be one of the 'easier' tests during the stretch, which obviously speaks volumes about the quality of opponents they're set to run through. The Bolts have struggled out of the gate this year, with just an 11-12-2 record in 25 GP. Head coach Guy Boucher has stated adamantly that the team as a whole has improved with each passing game, but simply haven't caught enough breaks along the way.
For Tampa Bay, life's been tough. And, considering they're embarking on a four-game road trip (4-8-2 away from home this season), they're going to need to clean it up, and fast.
Few changes are expected on either side for tonight's match-up. In fact, the Ottawa Senators are rolling out the exact same lineup that dropped Saturday's 3-2 contest in Washington, with Filip Kuba still sidelined and Nikita Filatov the healthy scratch. Bobby Butler's been promoted to the first-line with Colin Greening and Jason Spezza on a rather short leash.
Mattias Ohlund is still sidelined for Tampa Bay, as he continues to recover from a knee injury that's sidelined him for the entire season to date. Pavel Kubina's (LBI) not expected to go either, meaning Bruno Gervais will get some ice time tonight. Adam Hall completes the trifecta - he's unavailable tonight, too.
In net, it'll be Dwayne Roloson for Craig Anderson, two veteran goaltenders who know their way around the crease. Roloson's 6-7-1 in 15 GP, with a .887 save percentage and 3.51 GAA. Anderson's 11-8-2 in 23 GP, with an .894 save percentage and 3.43 GAA.
Puck drops at 7:30 PM ET on Sportsnet East.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Steve Downie – Steven Stamkos – Martin St. Louis
Ryan Malone – Vincent Lecavalier – Teddy Purcell
Ryan Shannon – Dominic Moore – Brett Connolly
Dana Tyrell – Nate Thompson – Tom Pyatt
Victor Hedman – Eric Brewer
Marc-Andre Bergeron – Matt Gilroy
Brett Clark – Bruno Gervais
Ottawa Senators
Bobby Butler – Jason Spezza – Colin Greening
Milan Michalek - Nick Foligno – Daniel Alfredsson
Chris Neil – Zack Smith – Erik Condra
Kaspars Daugavins – Zenon Konopka – Jesse Winchester
Chris Phillips – Erik Karlsson
Jared Cowen – Sergei Gonchar
David Rundblad – Brian Lee
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