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UPDATE(1:00 PM ET):
Not one to re-up these gameday columns, but the news coming out of Ottawa, Ontario is pretty substantial. Blue-chip prospect Jakob Silfverberg is expected to make his NHL debut, drawing into first-line duty with the likes of Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek. Silfverberg is fresh off a record breaking thirteen-goal playoff campaign in the SEL.
Just sixty minutes away from advancing to the second round, the Ottawa Senators are hoping to put away the top-seeded New York Rangers at Scotiabank Place on Monday night.
The New York Rangers are getting back a flashy top-six winger in Carl Hagelin to help solidify their forward ranks, but it'll be the insertion of two dynamic talents into Ottawa's front lines that will almost certainly take center stage.
Jakob Silfverberg, as mentioned previously, has been given the green light for the Ottawa Senators on Monday night. Many thought Silfverberg would be held out of action by Paul MacLean for a variety of reasons, but it's quite apparent that the bench boss - in his extremely limited work with the kid - think he's ready to join the NHL ranks.
Silfverberg will be the second highly-regarded Ottawa Senators prospect to make his NHL debut for the Ottawa Senators in this series. Mark Stone did in game five, and was responsible for the beautiful needle-thread of a pass to Jason Spezza for the opening goal on Saturday night.
According to a report from a Swedish newspaper, Silfverberg mentioned that he's not only playing, but drawing in on L1 with Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek.
Still, lost in the maze of young talent is the return of the veteran captain Daniel Alfredsson, a week removed from his second concussion of the season. Alfredsson was trying to return back to the ice earlier in the week, but team physicians held him back. If you recall, Alfredsson suffered his head injury via the above-mentioned Carl Hagelin in game two. Hagelin was hit with a three-game suspension and has not played in any of the games Alfredsson missed.
With the Ottawa Senators employing a flurry of line combinations in the morning skate, it's tough to pinpoint who is officially drawing with who. If Daniel Alfredsson's healthy enough to play, the captain's certainly drawing in. And, if we're to believe the report that Silfverberg's in and on L1, that'd indicate the return of Mark Stone and Bobby Butler to the press box, unless Paul MacLean dials up another change.
On the New York end, John Tortorella's bunch is keeping level-headed, even if they have found themselves in a 3-2 hole looking for answers. Tortorella remains optimistic about his team's play, as does newly-acquired centerman Brad Richards:
''Whoever is going to win has to win four,'' Rangers forward Brad Richards said, ''and no one has done that yet.''
Speaking of centers, the New York Rangers will be without pivotal draw-man Brian Boyle for game six, and if necessary, game seven. Boyle's been an absolute terror for the Ottawa Senators in this series, and has been the only deterrent to Ottawa's essential face-off domination in the first five games.
Boyle had been taking almost all of his team's crucial defensive zone draws, combating the likes of talents like Jason Spezza and Zenon Konopka with regularity. In fact, Boyle has started a team-low 11% of his shifts in the offensive zone. However, he's ended his shift in the offensive zone about 43% of the time, which speaks volumes about where the play heads when he's on the ice.
Between the net tonight, it's the usual suspects. Craig Anderson(.943, 1.79) has been absolutely sensational, as has Henrik Lundqvist(.945, 1.78). Coming into the series, New York's biggest advantage was potentially between the pipes. Through five games, pinpointing the difference in caliber is nearly impossible.
Puck drops at 7:00 PM ET on CBC.
New York Rangers
Carl Hagelin - Brad Richards - Marian Gaborik
Artem Anisimov - Derek Stepan -Ryan Callahan
Ruslan Fedotenko - Brandon Dubinsky - Brandon Prust
Chris Kreider - John Mitchell - Mike Rupp
Ryan McDonagh - Dan Girardi
Marc Staal - Anton Stralman
Michael Del Zotto - Stu Bickel
Ottawa Senators - unconfirmed
Milan Michalek - Jason Spezza - Jakob Silfverberg
Nick Foligno - Kyle Turris - Daniel Alfredsson
Colin Greening - Zack Smith - Chris Neil
Zenon Konopka - Jim O'Brien - Erik Condra
Filip Kuba - Erik Karlsson
Chris Phillips - Matt Carkner
Jared Cowen - Sergei Gonchar
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