GAME DAY: Ottawa Senators @ San Jose Sharks - 10:30pm ET - Tue. Dec. 1st, 2009: Sharks win 5-2 PLUS postgame thoughts

The Ottawa Senators (13-7-4, 30 points, 3rd in the Northeast) continue their road trip and head out West to visit Dany Heatley and the San Jose Sharks (18-6-4, 40 points, 1st in the Pacific) on Tuesday night. The Sens are coming off a tough SO loss to the Bruins that saw them blow a two-goal lead early and surrender three power play goals to fall behind in the game. Michalek tied it up in the dying seconds and it was the goalie show in the shootout. The Sens have got to learn to keep the pressure on even with a two goal lead... no lead is safe these days. Spezza continues his inconsistent play and rumours of playing through a back injury are swirling. This game will mark the first time the Sens face Heatley since the infamous trade request this summer. Michalek and Cheechoo will be facing their former team and should get a warm welcome from the fans as they were liked by the fans. The Sharks are currently the best team in the NHL with the Marleau/Thornton/Heatley line is just ripping it up and that entire line looks to be a lock for Team Canada. Emotions could factor into this game... hopefully the Sens can catch the Sharks off guard and get a win over the much hated Heatbag. The fans back home would appreciate it for sure. GO SENS GO!!!

Game Coverage:
- TV: SNET-E (HD), CSN-CA (HD)
- Radio: Team 1200
- Web: check http://www.atdhe.net and http://www.justin.tv

Latest Updates:
- Volchenkov is in, Campoli sits and Elliott starts in net.
- Greiss gets the start in net for the Sharks

Team Lineups:
Ottawa Senators: http://www.dailyfaceoff.com/team-lineups/ottawa-senators-team-lineup
San Jose Sharks: http://www.dailyfaceoff.com/team-lineups/san-jose-sharks-team-lineup

TSN's Ice Chips:

Source: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=11009

Ottawa Senators:

Anton Volchenkov (dislocated right elbow) will have to wait until Tuesday's game against San Jose to make his return. He practiced with the team on Saturday morning, but still is not 100 per cent. - Ottawa Citizen

Projected lines vs the Boston Bruins:

Forwards:
Michalek - Spezza - Alfredsson
Foligno - Fisher - Kovalev
Ruutu - Kelly - Cheechoo
Regin - Winchester - Shannon

Defencemen:
Phillips - Volchenkov
Kuba - Karlsson
Picard - Carkner

Goaltenders:
Elliott
Brodeur

Injuries:
- Anton Volchenkov (dislocated right elbow, expected to play on Tuesday vs San Jose)
- Shean Donovan (knee, on IR, out indefinitely)
- Pascal Leclaire (broken jaw, out 4 weeks)
- Chris Neil (knee, expected to miss 1-2 weeks)

San Jose Sharks:

Defenceman Rob Blake, who has been out since Nov. 4 with an upper-body injury, returned to the lineup Sunday for San Jose. - TSN

The team has put LW Jody Shelley on injured-reserve. He has missed the past 10 games with what was originally described as general soreness. - Mercury News

Projected Lines vs the Sens:

Forwards:
Marleau - Thornton - Heatbag
Clowe - Pavelski - Malhotra
Ortmeyer -Nichol - McGinn
McLaren - Mitchell - Setoguchi

Defencemen:
Blake - Vlasic
Boyle - Murray
Huskins - Joslin

Goaltenders:
Greiss
Nabokov

Injuries:
- Jody Shelley (body soreness, on IR)
- Brad Staubitz (broken right cheekbone, out indefinitely)

Game Day Previews:

OttawaSenators.com Game Day Preview:

Source: http://senators.nhl.com/club/preview.htm?id=2009020393

NHL.com Game Day Preview:

Source: http://www.nhl.com/ice/preview.htm?id=2009020393

Sportsnet.ca Game Day Preview:

Source: http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/scores/20091201/Ott@SJ/story

ESPN Game Day Preview:

Source: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/preview?gameId=291201018

ESPN Stats Comparison:



Media Links:
- Michalek and Cheechoo talk about San Jose: http://senators.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=507968
- Clouston post-game presser from Saturday night: http://bit.ly/6Nzjcb
- Karlsson recalled, Lee sent down: http://senators.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=507653
- SensTV On-line: http://senators.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp
- Official Twitter of the Ottawa Senators: http://twitter.com/NHL_Sens

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GO SENS GO!!!

Big game for the Sens and their fans... retribution must be had! This is a late one... get those beers and red bull's ready! GO SENS GO!!!

Any mention of Heatley receiving a two-hander across the throat in that game?

Cmon VOlchie, we need a hit of the year.

Wow. We get to see Heatley even more than we bargained for. Apparently the Sharks are second in the Northeast ahead of Ottawa.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:Wow. We get to see Heatley even more than we bargained for. Apparently the Sharks are second in the Northeast ahead of Ottawa.

Fixed... jackass.

marakh wrote:Cmon VOlchie, we need a hit of the year.

Indeed. Right on the Heatbag.

Is it bad that I don't anticipate a good result in our favour out of this game. I am however expecting to see Heatley's face Carknerized and then his body Volchenkovized and I can't wait for the result of THAT!!

If A-Train is back I feel a lot better about our chances against the Sharks. Our PK and our shutdown abilities just got a boost. It also slots everyone else back to their more comfortable rolls and ice time.

Figures the one game I thought I was really going to appreciate Neil in, he's injured.

One thing you can count on is Heatley will play an uninspired game as he usually did whenever he faced Atlanta as an Ottawa Senator.

If that Heatley slept with someone's wife rumour is true, we might find out who's wife it was

Cap'n Clutch wrote:One thing you can count on is Heatley will play an uninspired game as he usually did whenever he faced Atlanta as an Ottawa Senator.

He's gonna play with Marleau, Thornton and Boyle on the PP, all he need is one leg to look decent.

marakh wrote:If that Heatley slept with someone's wife rumour is true, we might find out who's wife it was

Even if it Spezza's

Sens19 wrote:

marakh wrote:If that Heatley slept with someone's wife rumour is true, we might find out who's wife it was

Even if it Spezza's

A huge check from Spezza followed by a 10 second giggle.