The Ottawa Senators will play the second game of a four game home stand tonight when they host the sputtering New York Rangers at Scotiabank Place.

It will be the first time the two teams have faced each other since their dramatic seven game series in Round One of the Eastern Conference playoffs last season.  The Sens are currently three points clear of the 9th place Rangers.

Much like Monday afternoon in New Jersey, the Ottawa Senators were able to win an ugly one, this time in front of the home town faithful.

Andre Benoit and David Dziurzynski each scored their first goals in the National Hockey League and Craig Anderson was his usual reliable self as the Ottawa Senators kicked off a four game home stand with a big 3-1 win over the New York Islanders.

Fresh off of a gutsy road win over the New Jersey Devils, the Senators return home to take on John Tavares and the New York Islanders.

Both teams are coming off Monday afternoon affairs so the back to back games shouldn’t really be a factor.  The Sens edged the Devils 2-1 in a shootout while the Islanders suffered the most lopsided shutout loss on home ice in franchise history, falling to the Flyers by a score of 7-0.

As the afternoon moved along, and with the Ottawa Senators starved for offence, it looked like it just wasn't going to be their afternoon.

That was until the Sens Captain stepped up. Alfredsson put a backhand underneath the bar that tied the game at 1-1. That was the way it stayed until the shootout where Jakob Silfverberg picked apart the veteran Martin Brodeur and gave the Sens a huge two points.

(UPDATE 10;32 AM)- Two line up changes for the Senators today in New Jersey.  Mika Zibanejad comes out of the line up in favour of Colin Greening who sat out Saturday night.  Andre Benoit will also come out of the line up in favour of Patrick Wiercioch.

(UPDATE 9:59 AM)-  Apparently Gryba was only the beginning.  With some injury issues up front, the Senators have also recalled Derek Grant and David Dziursynski from the Binghamton Senators.  Doesn't leave much down on the farm but a great chance for the kids to show what they can do.  Practice at 11:00 AM at SBP.

For the second time in less than 15 games, Bryan Murray had to speak to the media about an injury to one of the team’s star players.

In an address this afternoon, the Sens General Manager indicated that defending Norris Trophy champion had surgery on a 70% cut and that the recovery time is expected to be 3-4 months. Murray said that as expected, “Karlsson’s season is effectively over.”

The Ottawa Senators played a hockey game tonight but hardly anyone is talking about the result afterwards.

Late in the second period, Sens defenceman Erik Karlsson was cut by the skate of Matt Cooke and left the ice in obvious pain. Replays showed the skate of Cooke slicing across the back of Karlsson's left ankle in a sight that turned stomachs across the city of Ottawa.

Looking to build on a solid outing against the Sabres last night, the Senators are right back at it tonight when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins.

While the Sabres have struggled to start the season, playing the Penguins on a back to back presents an entirely different challenge.  They come into the game holding down the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference and boast one of the league’s most offensively gifted line ups.  Safe to say the Sens will have their hands full in this one.

With Jason Spezza on the sidelines for the foreseeable future, the Ottawa Senators will need their best players to step up to win hockey games.

That is exactly what happened on Tuesday night.  Craig Anderson was an absolute rock in goal and defenceman Erik Karlsson scored the game winner while shorthanded, leading the Sens to a much needed 2-0 win over their division rivals, the Buffalo Sabres.