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Ottawa Senators Starting line-up:
Greening - Spezza - Butler
Michalek - Shannon - Condra
Foligno - Winchester - Neil
Svatos - Smith - Lessard
Hale - Karlsson
Phillips - Lee
Kuba - Wiercioch
Anderson
SD's Green and Red Report:
Erik Condra:
A call up when Chris Kelly was traded, all Condra has done in his time here is score 10 points in 21 games - including 6 goals. Condra has also found a linemate that he really clicks with in Ryan Shannon. They two of them kill penalties together, use their intelligence on the ice to produce chances, add in a third member of the line, one Milan Michalek, and we're starting to see visions of what could be a nice, hard-working line for the rest of this year and potentially beyond.
Brian Lee
Pretty much everyone's on board now. Brian Lee has changed his game from a lanky, puck-mover - who frankly didn't do enough of moving the puck - to a sturdy, 210 pound shutdown defender who has also been a part of Chris Phillips improved play. He's becoming more and more nasty around the net, isn't afraid (at all) to initiate contact and has become better by the game at blocking shots. A feel good story for Lee himself and a testament to Ottawa's patience with him. Coach Kurt Kleinendorst should also be praised for working diligently with him in Bingo.
Storyline:
Damn, this is a tough one for Sens' fans. This is NOT - I repeat - NOT a game the Sens can afford to win. Why? Because a few of the pieces are there for the Sens to be more competitive next year, they don't need to be winning these games against teams who have a legitimate shot at getting a higher pick than them, not now guy...
On the flip side, I don't think anyone can say the Panthers are anywhere near as good a team as the Sens - and I personally don't see a loss coming for Ottawa tonight.
Dubbed by TankNation as the MUST LOSE GAME OF THE YEAR, we'll see what actually shakes out tonight.
