Coming off a disappointing loss where they left a valuable point on the table, the Senators have headed west where they will meet the suddenly surging Colorado Avalanche. The Avs got off to a terrible start, but are 7-3-2 in their last 12 games and are desperately trying to get back into the playoff mix, trailing the final wild card spot by 7 points with 4 teams to pass.
The Senators are in a similar position, sitting 6 points back of the final playoff spot with 3 teams to pass, so this is a crucial game for both teams. We can only hope both come out with the desperation and it is an entertaining inter-conference game.
Semyon Varlamov is coming of a tremendous 54 save shutout of the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night, in a 2-0 Avs win.
These two clubs are very similar in terms of their age, and the fact that neither team has anyone really lighting up the scoreboard and are scoring by committee. Three Avs share the club lead in points (Alex Tanguay, Jarome Iginla and Gabriel Landeskog) with just 25 in 40 games.
You will probably see Curtis Lazar back in the lineup, with Colin Greening the most obvious candidate to be a healthy scratch. Although, Mark Stone sat for the final 13:46 and saw just 2 shifts in the third period, having been replaced by Alex Chiasson on the Turris line. Was it just a message to Stone that he needs to pick it up, or was it a sign of things to come?
Lazar could play the wing, and it wouldn't shock me to see Stone, with 2 points in his last 7 games either moved down the lineup or sat for a game with Lazar taking a turn on the Turris-MacArthur line to see if he can continue his scoring touch that he re-gained during the World Juniors. I am not saying I would sit Stone personally, but it wouldn't shock me if it happened, jsut to give him a chance to look at the game from a different perspective. That being said, Greening does make more sense to be the odd man out.
Dave Cameron didn't name his starting goalie, which he usually does the day before a game, but I believe it will be Craig Anderson making back to back starts for the Senators.
It is a late start (9:00 pm EST) in Denver so get your pre-game nap in!.