UPDATE:

Robin Lehner will start against the Devils, with Craig Anderson getting the net in Chicago. Cowen, Greening and Condra are the scratches once again as there are no changes in the lineup from last Saturday night.

Quotes on the emotion of the night:

Kyle Turris on hockey's role in helping the community recover: "Just to try to bring people together, help them take their minds of things and kind of show a different way of support, the way we can do it. The atmosphere is going to be great so we are just going to have to try to calm down a bit and play our game and not stray from things."

Mark Borowiecki on being part of the Senators, but also an Ottawa native: "Its tough to kind of separate being a professional athlete and a member of this community too. Its important to reflect and not take that moment for granted but at the same time you have to focus on the job that needs to be done...Its two fold for me being a member of this team, a member of the Ottawa Senators but also being born and raised here its extra special for me. I am going to come out with my best and hopefully we all do."

Robin Lehenr on being a member of this community and how this week's tragedy has affected him, and the night ahead.: "This city has always shown a lot of love for me and I have always been impressed how you do it here, especially downtown with Parliament and everything, when I saw it, its so sad and unfortunate and so sad it comes to this but hopefully we can do everything we can as players, an organization and fans to stand up for this and have a great night in his memory.


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It will be an emotional start to the game, with the Senators, Habs and Leafs all joining forces for a pregame ceremony and tribute to those affected by the unfortunate actions of the past week. I am sure the ceremony and national anthem will be rousing and create and electric atmosphere, but in the end there is still a game to be played, and an important one at that.

The visiting New Jersey Devils are coming off a shootout loss to Jason Spezza and the Dallas Stars, so the Senators need to come out of the blocks quickly and not have the sluggish start that plagued them the night of the season opener. They also need to avoid the extended periods of time where they have been hemmed in their own zone, unable to get the puck out under control.

Cory Schneider has started every game so far in the Devils net, and although he played last night, the Devils might be committed to run with him instead of turning to Scott Clemmensen, but that has yet to be confirmed. For what it's worth, in limited action against the Senators, Schneider is 1-0-1 with a 0.94 GAA and .967 save percentage.

After winning their first 3 games of the season, the Devils have dropped 4 straight, with the last two losses coming in extra time. They are currently sitting in the last Wild Card spot, tied in points with the Senators who have two games in hand.

The Devils have been led offensively by Mike Cammalleri, who leads the team with 5 goals, while Adam Henrique and rookie defensemam Damon Severson are the only other Devils who have lit the lamp more than once.

This is the only appearance for New Jersey in Ottawa this season, meaning it could be the final appearance for the legendary Jaromir Jagr. Now a spry 42 years old, Jagr has had a tremendous career, including great success against the Sens. In 65 career games, Jagr has notched 37 goals and added 41 assists for 78 points.

Ottawa hasn't played a game in a week, since the 3-2 win over the Blue Jackets last Saturday night. This will be the first of back to back games, as they play the Blackhawks in Chicago on Sunday night. As I said yesterday, you will probably see some lineup changes over the next couple of days as guys need to play to stay sharp, and Colin Greening, Jared Cowen and Erik Condra will likely see the ice at least once in this 3 games in 4 nights stretch.

With the week off, it is tough to harness any momentum they would have had, but Ottawa will be looking for its 5th straight win and try to keep pace with the Canadiens and Lightning in the Atlantic Division. They have played fewer games than any team in the Eastern Conference, and these games against other middling teams are the ones that could make the difference come April. Not only is it gaining two points, but it is also taking a point or two away from someone they could be battling with for for playoff position down the stretch. It may be an overused cliche, but points in October count just as much as points in March or April.

This game could be decided on special teams, as the Devils have one of the top power plays, cashing in on over 26% of their chances. However, as good as their 7th ranked power play has been, their penalty killing has been equally bad. Their play while down a man has been the 2nd worst in the league, at just 71% and has given up a league high 9 power play goals against. It is an opportunity for the Senators power play to get on a roll and improve on their 22nd ranked 13.6% success rate.

I will have updates following the morning skate as to what the lineup will look like as well as who will start in goal.

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