GAME DAY: Chicago Blackhawks @ Ottawa Senators - 7:30pm ET - Tue. Jan. 19th, 2010

The Ottawa Senators (25-21-4, 52 points, 3rd in the Northeast) return after a surprisingly successful road trip to face the NHL leading Chicago Blackhawks (34-11-4, 72 points, 1st in the Central) on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Sens return home after going 3-2 on their 5-game road trip by tallying three wins in a row to close it out after a depressing start. Alfie returned for the final two games and showed the world why Sens fans call him a GOD. 4 goals, 2 assists for 6 points in his two games back. Unbelievable. This guy truly is a machine. Chicago is tops in the NHL right now and firing on all cylinders. This will be a very big test for the Sens but if they can continue to play like they have over the past three games and get the solid goaltending they have been getting, it should be a great game. Just give them a chance to win... that's all they need. The status of Brodeur will need to be determined but Elliott did a great job in Boston and hopefully will be ready for a back to back if needed. We'll see. GO SENS GO!!!

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

Latest updates:
- No changes to the lineup. Elliott starts.
- Spezza could play as early as in a week
- Michalek could play as early as Thursday
- Game notes for tonight: http://senators.nhl.com/v2/ext/PDFs/100119_Ott-vs-Chi.pdf
- Sens have opted not to skate on Tuesday

Team Lineups:
Ottawa Senators: http://www.dailyfaceoff.com/team-lineups/ottawa-senators-team-lineup
Chicago Blackhawks: http://www.dailyfaceoff.com/team-lineups/chicago-blackhawks-team-lineup

TSN's Ice Chips:

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

Ottawa Senators:

Brian Elliott started in goal in Boston on Monday afternoon since Mike Brodeur came down with an illness.

Projected Lines vs. Chicago

Forwards:
Foligno - Fisher - Alfredsson
Shannon - Regin - Kovalev
Ruutu - Kelly - Neil
Cheechoo - Smith - Donovan

Defencemen:
Phillips - Volchenkov
Kuba - Karlsson
Campoli - Carkner

Goaltenders:
Elliott
Brodeur

Healthy scratches:
- Picard

Injuries:
- Jason Spezza (torn right MCL, out 6-8 weeks)
- Milan Michalek (upper body injury, out indefinitely)
- Jesse Winchester (knee, out a month)
- Pascal Leclaire (concussion, out indefinitely)

Chicago Blackhawks:

Defenseman Jordan Hendry sat out his second straight game as a healthy scratch. - Chicago Sun Times

Projected lineup vs the Sens:

Forwards:
Brouwer - Toews - Kane
Ladd - Sharp - Hossa
Versteeg - Madden - Byfuglien
Eager - Fraser - Kopecky

Defencemen:
Keith - Seabrook
Hjalmarsson - Campbell
Sopel - Barker

Goaltenders:
Huet
Niemi

Injuries:
- Adam Burish (knee surgery, on IR, out indefinitely)
- David Bolland (back surgery, on IR, expected to miss 3-4 months)

Game Day Previews:

OttawaSenators.com Game Day Preview:

Source: http://senators.nhl.com/club/preview.htm?id=2009020737

NHL.com Game Day Preview:

Source: http://www.nhl.com/ice/preview.htm?id=2009020737

Sportsnet.ca Game Day Preview:

Source: http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/scores/20100119/Chi@Ott/story

ESPN Game Day Preview:

Source: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/preview?gameId=300119014

ESPN Stats Comparison:



Media Links:
- Clouston pre-game presser from Tuesday: http://senators.nhl.com/v2/ext/Audio/100119_Clouston.mp3
- Game notes for tonight: http://senators.nhl.com/v2/ext/PDFs/100119_Ott-vs-Chi.pdf
- Cory Clouston post-game presser from Monday: http://bit.ly/4QWTfH
- 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!!!

This game scares me; lots

Twitter it up!

http://twitter.com/GMHockey/status/7919756928

TheAvatar wrote:This game scares me; lots

Yeah, me too. Check the goals for and against comparison. WOW.

going to the game, hopefully it isnt total destruction at the hands of the blackhawks

THe poor Brodeur will be thrown into the wolf's mouth

I say VOlchie sends Toews to the hospital in the first shift

Again, thankfully we won this afternoon.

shabbs wrote:

TheAvatar wrote:This game scares me; lots

Yeah, me too. Check the goals for and against comparison. WOW.

Our home record is better than their road record.

asq2 wrote:

shabbs wrote:

TheAvatar wrote:This game scares me; lots

Yeah, me too. Check the goals for and against comparison. WOW.

Our home record is better than their road record.

Good point. That's because we haven't played them at home yet

So the consensus is we're gonna get slaughtered?

SpezDispenser wrote:So the consensus is we're gonna get slaughtered?

Maybe not slaughtered but definetly a big challenge. Back to back and get the Hawks... Recipe for disaster but well see..

SpezDispenser wrote:So the consensus is we're gonna get slaughtered?

I think if we can continue the same play, get the solid goaltending and minimize their chances, we have a good shot.

shabbs wrote:

TheAvatar wrote:This game scares me; lots

Yeah, me too. Check the goals for and against comparison. WOW.

That side by side comparison is scary from top to bottom.

But the best team in the league wins 4-5 games out of every six, and lately they've been on a hot streak. Law of averages says they have to lose one sooner or later. In the NHL anything can happen on any given night.

Let's ignore the stats and just concentrate on what needs to be done. Give Elliott a lead and see what happens.

I Second that !