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UPDATED 10:45 - Game Day: Sens Vs Hawks Part II |
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UPDATE: Mike Hoffman was skating with Curtis Lazar and Mark Stone, and it looks like Greening and Condra are the odd men out. Mark Borowiecki didn't skate and Patrick Wiecioch was paired with Eric Gryba.
The Senators return home for a quick change of clothes and a meeting with the Chicago Blackhawks before heading back out on the road to face the Bruins on Saturday night.
The Hawks made a winner of Scott Darling in his first NHL game on Sunday night against the Sens. Darling will be along on the trip, along with Corey Crawford and Antti Raanta. Crawford is close to returning from his injury, but after beating Ottawa Darling allowed just one goal to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night, so they might want to run with the hot hand and give Darling another shot.
Meanwhile, in the Ottawa net Craig Anderson will get the call, because a) it is his turn in the rotation; b) He was tremendous in Sunday's loss to Chicago and c) Robin Lehner will be a little pre-occupied with the scheduled birth of his child today.
Ottawa is coming in off their highest offensive output of the season, scoring 5 times on Curtis McElhinney and the injury ravaged Blue Jackets, who have 9 regulars on the injured list. The Blackhawks are a different animal, but they have struggled to put the puck in the net lately, with just 4 goals in their last 3 games.
The Senators didn't practice yesterday after returning home from Columbus, so there is no indication on any lineup changes that might be made. Mark Borowiecki could be considered a question mark after taking the heavy hit from Corey Tropp, but fortunately Eric Gryba was not suspended for his hit on Artem Anisimov. I don't think he deserved a suspension, but in today's NHL I certainly expected one. If Borowiecki can't go, then Patrick Wiercioch will draw back in, and if the can, then the decision will have to be made between Wiercioch and Jared Cowen. Cowen played ok in his return to the lineup from a 6 game press box banishment, but didn't do enough to guarantee getting another start.
The Senators' discipline, a problem last year but not too bad to start this one, has slipped back into its old ways in the last three games. They have given up at least 5 power play opportunities and 4 power play goals in the three games, after giving up just 4 power play markers in their first 5 games. The penalties are coming on careless (Cowen high sticking against Columbus) or simply bad decisions (Borowiecki going after Boll against the Blue Jackets) and it is taking the Senators out of their flow.
The other big question mark has now become the play of Mika Zibanejad. His fancy stats numbers aren't all that bad, and his faceoff percentage is actually over 50%, so he isn't being a drain on the team. You would like to see a guy with his shot actually shoot the puck more than his 9 shots in 8 games, and the points will come. He seems like a streaky player where once he gets one, his confidence will improve and the points could come in bunches.
The game is at 7:30 on TSN 5, if you aren't going to be at the game in person.
Predictions?
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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