The Senators wrap up their preseason schedule with a quick trip to Montreal, facing off against the Canadiens.
It should be close to the opening night roster, but there is still some ironing out to do. Derick Brassard took a step forward at practice yesterday, wearing a regular jersey instead of the non-contact powder blue he has used so far. He won't play tonight, however, so if he does play in the opener on Thursday night he will do so without any game action under his belt.
It could be another opportunity for the youngsters, namely Logan Brown and Alex Formenton, to secure a spot on the roster for opening night, while staying their eventual return to junior. They would both better be served with another year of junior, in my opinion, and when Brassard is good to go the team would be better off in the long run with Max McCormick on the fourth line than a kid who still has some growing to do.
The bigger battle is on the blue line, with 8 defenseman still in camp plus Erik Karlsson, who is getting closer by the day to being able to play. The battle for the roster continues, with all nine defenseman capable of playing at the NHL level and only room for 7 on the roster.
For what it's worth, my pairings with Karlsson would be Karlsson - Oduya Chabot - Phaneuf Ceci - Claesson
with Wideman as the 7th.
Without Karlsson, I would go Chabot - Phaneuf Ceci - Oduya Claesson - Wideman and Harpur as the 7th. That would leave Mark Borowiecki as the odd man out in both scenarios. I don't think that will happen, (it is just what I would do) and Borowiecki will probably see more time than anyone really wants.
I would have an asterisk on Chabot, giving him a handful of games to see where his overall game is at, and allowing him to fill an offensive role while Karlsson is still on the shelf, and then make a decision on whether or not he will be better served with some seasoning in the minors before coming back to the NHL for good.
We will see who plays tonight and that might give a better indication of what Guy Boucher plans to do.
Craig Anderson, fresh off putting ink to paper on a new 2 year contract extension, should get the start and play the whole game since he hasn't played since last Saturday against the Habs, and won't get action until the puck drops for real on Thursday.
Montreal is also wrapping up its preseason schedule, coming off their first win in 7 outings last night, 3-1 over Florida. They should also be icing what could be their opening night lineup, so it should be a good matchup on a Saturday night.