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UPDATE: Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson are both out for today's game. Child birth and flu, respectively.
After yesterday's desirable results, including an Ottawa victory over Philadelphia and Toronto regulation victory over Buffalo, the Senators have a chance to accomplish a feat so many deemed impossible in the preseason on Sunday afternoon.
Beat the New York Islanders on Long Island, and Ottawa locks up a playoff berth. Incredible, huh?
Although this Ottawa Senators team was projected to finish inside of the lottery by almost every major media outlet, they've managed to come together as a team and piece together a wildly impressive season under first-year head coach Paul MacLean.
Yet, for as impressive as Ottawa's run has been this season, the circle of goaltenders on Long Island remained the more intriguing topic.
With Evgeni Nabokov sidelined to injury and Al Montoya having played against Boston in a 6-3 bloodbath on Saturday night, the New York Islanders were rumored to have considered starting emergency signing John Grahame for Sunday's affair.
For Grahame's sake, I'm glad the Islanders decided to go back with Montoya. No reason to throw a goalie who isn't even close to NHL-caliber into the fire. On the season, Montoya's 8-8-5, with a .901 save percentage and 2.88 GAA.
Paul MacLean will counter with the formidable Craig Anderson, who was downright spectacular against the Flyers in a 36/39 save effort. Anderson's stats on the year include a 32-20-6 record, .913 save percentage, and 2.88 GAA.
Although there won't be any change between the pipes, Paul MacLean's opted to make two swaps to the lineup, reintroducing familiar faces in Matt Gilroy and Jesse Winchester. Gilroy's spent recent games in the press box, with the coaching staff opting for the more-physical Matt Carkner. Jesse Winchester's returning from a brutal concussion that sidelined him for forty-four games, sending Rob Klinkhammer upstairs.
New York's lineup should have a similar feel to the one employed against Boston on Saturday. Matt Moulson, P.A. Parenteau, and John Tavares all had multi-point nights, but the Bruins rush was just too much for G Al Montoya, who stopped just 21 of 27 shots.
Puck drops at 3:00 PM ET on SNET-East.
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