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The Ottawa Senators will raise Daniel Alfredsson's #11 to the rafters tonight, and there is also a game to be played.

It will be an emotional night that some believed might not happen given the way the player and team split ahead of his final NHL season with the Red Wings. But, time heals all wounds and after his retirement it didn't take long for him to return home and get back in the community and the franchise that he is identified with.

Alfredsson is the first player from the modern era to have his number retired, as the career franchise leader in goals, assists and points and second in games played (by one game to Chris Phillips). He was the first Senator to play 1,000 games with the franchise and was the captain for 13 seasons.

Whether or not he will eventually be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame can still be debated and will when he becomes eligible, but there is no argument that this is an honor that is very dell deserved and will no doubt be a tremendous ceremony.

The festivities will begin at 6:30 pm, and scheduled for about 45 minutes after which the warmups and the game, yes there will be a game, will drop around 8:00.

Detroit has struggled with inconsistency this season, and have sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Division and just one point out of the Eastern Conference basement.

Both clubs are coming in off 4-3 losses on Tuesday night, the Senators at the hands of the New York Rangers and the Red Wings losing the the Buffalo Sabres.

Ottawa coach Guy Boucher should be happy if he gets a similar performance from his team and the 18 skaters, but needs a bounce-back game from Mike Condon who allowed a couple of iffy goals in the loss to the Rangers. The same could be said of the Wings, who carried the play and outshot the Sabres 43-22 in the loss.

Casey Bailey was recalled from Binghamton to take the place of Zack Smith, who left Tuesday's game with an upper body injury.

While the result of the game is important, this night will be all about Alfredsson, and it will be a night to reminisce about the achievements of the greatest Senator to date. As for the next one, there could be an argument made for Chris Phillips and Chris Neil because of longevity, but it is already pretty much assured that Erik Karlsson in on track to get there.

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