Elliott to Start

According to Brent Wallace at TSN, Brian Elliott will get the call this afternoon when the Senators host the New York Rangers.

Ryan Shannon returns to the press box. Shean Donovan takes his spot in the line up.

Puck drop is at 2. The game can be seen on CBC.
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Post Game Wrap up and Rumours

Always one to focus on the good in this hockey team, I'm often considered to be a bit of a positivist. Well as I sat down to write the post game wrap up last night I drew a complete blank.

I honestly could not find one thing good about last night's effort in Philadelphia. It felt as though we were back in the Craig Hartsburg era as this team just sat back and took everything the Flyers had to give. Maybe this team forgot how to play on the road after so many games at home the last little while but that effort last night was down right awful.

I sat there looking at the TV for two and a half hours and honestly could not pick out anything good in the Senators game.

This defence group is not good enough to sit back like they did last night. Here's hoping they make the necessary adjustments to the game plan in time for Saturday, when they open up a 5 game home stand against the Rangers.

That and Pascal Leclaire has to be better. For the first part of the game Ottawa was able to sit back but a couple of weak ones on Leclaire really took the air out of the team.

Alright, enough of that. On to a couple rumours that have been sent my way in the last 24 hours.

-Obviously there's the report from Eklund that Ottawa is looking at Brent Seabrook in Chicago. Thats all well and good but the asking price is going to extremely high if Ottawa is serious about acquiring Seabrook.

-There is also some talk about 4th liner Chris Kelly. There's at least one team that has shown interest in Kelly to this point but Murray wanted to give him a chance to find his game early in the year. Kelly has been ok up to this point but is certainly expendable with Winchester and Donovan both waiting in the wings.

-Murray has said he would like to add a forward but would need to clear one or two out first. Murray has apparently put a call in about Frolov in Los Angeles but nothing more than a telephone call to report on that front.

-Ottawa continues to keep an eye on the Peter Forsberg situation but is definitely considered a long shot to add the veteran if he does decide to return to the NHL.

Visiting an Old Friend

The Ottawa Senators pay a visit to a familiar face tonight when they take on Ray Emery and the Flyers in Philadelphia. Tonight's tilt marks the first time Ottawa has played Rayzor since he suited up for the Senators a couple seasons ago.

Emery was a fan favourite for the majority of his tenure here in Ottawa but the wheels really came off towards the end. Emery had run ins with the teammates, management and even the law while in Ottawa and eventually ended up leaving for the KHL.

Emery has found a home in Philadelphia. He's the number one goalie for a contending team and seems to be finding his game once again. I for one am happy for Ray. There was speculation that if this game was in Ottawa, Ray would receive a rough ride but I really don't think fans in Ottawa hold a grudge.

Meanwhile, the Senators likely face their toughest test of the season tonight in the Flyers. Philly has won four straight and is 6-2-1 on home ice this season.

The Senators are expected to ice the same line up as Tuesday against the Oilers, meaning the lines will look something like this...

Michalek-Spezza-Alfredsson

Cheechoo-Fisher-Kovalev

Foligno-Regin-Shannon

Ruutu-Kelly-Neil

Phillips-Kuba

Campoli-Lee

Picard-Carkner

Pascal Leclaire will get the start in net.

Tonight's game can be seen on...sigh...TSN. Puck drop is 7:00 PM.

A Day of Remembrance

The Ottawa Senators skated today before heading out to Philly to face Ray Emery and the Flyers tomorrow night.

Alfredsson took the day with what will certainly be called bumps and bruises. Volchenkov skated before the team but will again be out of the line up on Thursday night.

Here are the lines from this mornings practice...

Michalek-Spezza-Winchester

Kovalev-Fisher-Cheechoo

Foligno-Regin-Shannon

Ruutu-Kelly-Neil-Donovan.

A quick aside on this day of remembrance.

Its on a days like this that the game that we love is really put into perspective.

Remembrance Day is a day we honour those that have fought for the freedom that we so often take for granted.

I would personally like to thank all those men and women that have served and continue to serve our country, and especially those who gave the ultimate sacrafice for the blessed lives that we live today.

If you see a veteran today, take the time to say thank you. This beautiful country that we live in would not be what it is today if not for the sacrifices made by so many brave men and women.

Two Points is Two Points

The Senators were able to escape with an important two points tonight in what was a terribly sloppy game against the Oilers.

Ottawa took the lead in the third period only to see Brule score on a weak goal to tie things up at 3-3 late in the third. The Senators were sloppy throughout the final frame but were in a position to win the game after a hard work goal by Chris Neil. It was definitely a goal Leclaire would like to have back

Leclaire did bounce back nicely in the shootout though and made a couple of saves to help get the win.

There were plenty of negatives in this game and I'm sure some of you will point them out in the comments section but all that matters is Ottawa was able to pick up the two points. Ottawa took less penalties in this one but didn't draw a single power play. I don't know what the Senators did to anger the officials in this league but its becoming pretty damn obvious they don't like us.

Great to see Jonathan Cheechoo finally bag his first of the season. Cheechoo finished off a play from Alex Kovalev and got his first in a Senators uniform. After that goal, Cheechoo seemed a little more relaxed and actually had some pretty good chemistry going with Alex Kovalev.

Anyway, congrats to Jonathan Cheechoo on his first goal as a Senator.

Ottawa will have to be a lot better Thursday in Philly.

Until tomorrow....

GO SENS GO!

Game Day vs. Oilers

(UPDATE 5:24 PM)- As promised, here's the link to tonight's live blog over at theScore.com. Hope to see lots of you over there. Should be a few Oilers fans in attendance so we wanna make sure we have them out numbered.

GO SENS GO!

http://liveblogs.thescore.com/Event/NHL_-_Oilers_vs_Senators

Ottawa Senators fans will get their first look at what could have been tonight when the Edmonton Oilers visit the Senators at Scotiabank Place tonight.

The off season blockbuster that very nearly sent Dany Heatley to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Dustin Penner, Andrew Cogliano and Ladislav Smid was vetoed by Dany Heatley and his no trade clause.

Even to this day, there are those in the Senators organization who cry foul over the veto as they insist Heatley had given the Senators permission to work out a deal with the Oilers. When faced with the reality of play in Edmonton, Heatley balked and instead decided to wait out a deal to Sunny California.

We'll never know how that trade would have worked out for Ottawa but the start that Dustin Penner is having in Edmonton (21 pts in 17 games) really makes you wonder what could have been. (For the record, I think Michalek was the best player in either deal so we did ok in the long run)

Meanwhile, the Ottawa Senators are flat out desperate for a win. Coming off an ugly loss against the Devils, the Senators want to get back to their winning ways against an Oiler team that has struggled on the road this season.

Ryan Shannon is expected to draw back into the line up meaning that Shean Donovan and Jesse Winchester will be tonight's healthy scratches.

Here is a look at the expected line up courtesy of the Senators Twitter feed.

Michalek-Spezza-Alfredsson

Foligno-Fisher-Kovalev

Cheechoo-Regin-Shannon

Ruutu-Kelly-Neil

Pascal Leclaire is expected to get the start for the Sens.

I'll be live blogging the game again for theScore.com. We had a season high turnout for the game last night so here's hoping for more of the same tonight. I'll post the link later this afternoon.

Hope to see some of you over there...

Roy Mlakar on OTR

Former Senators President and well respected hockey man Roy Mlakar was just on Off the Record with Michael Landsberg.

Not sure if anyone caught it but there was one question particular that caught my attention...Here is the exchange that took place.

Landsberg: Who do you think the Senators fans hate the most? Alexei Yashin or Dany Heatley?

Mlakar: Alexei Yashin

Landsberg: Really? Still?

Mlakar: He walked out on a contract...

Landsberg: And Dany Heatley...?

Mlakar: I think some day we'll find out the real truth on that.

I know this has all been beaten to death but it very interesting to hear that answer from Mlakar.

Other topics included Roger's House, the Blue Jays President position, the siutation in Phoenix and the disgraceful Gladiator performance before Game 1 against the Pens a couple years back. Interview is definitely worth a watch...