GAME DAY: New Jersey @ Ottawa, 7:30PM, Monday, January 2, 2012

Coverage:
TV: MSG PLUS, SNET-E,TVA
Radio: Team1200
Internet: http://livetv.ru/en

Both teams ended 2011 on modest winning streaks (3 in a row for the Sens, and 2 for the Devils), and are among the hottest teams in the league: New Jersey is 7-3 over their last 10 (only Chicago and Colorado are hotter, at 8-2), while Ottawa is close behind at 6-3-1. With a win the Sens would leap-frog both the Devils and the Jets into 6th place in the Conference. The Devils, meanwhile, are just 3 points back of the division-leading Penguins, with a game in hand, and they'd surely love to get to within 1. Neither team can feel comfortable as the resurgent Capitals are just one point behind.

In their only encounter this season, the Sens squandered a 3-0 lead and needed a short-handed goal by Jesse Winchester with under 5 seconds to go just to get a loser point (Adam Henrique won it for the Devils with a backhand move in the 4th round of the shootout). It's fair to say the Sens would love a "do-over". On the other hand, so would Brodeur, who was pulled after giving up 2 goal on 9 shots in the first.

The good news for the Sens is that Auld started the last game, and Anderson will start tonight. Even though Anderson has not been the picture of consistency this season, I think it's fair to say the Sens would have stood a much better chance winning in the shootout, let alone during regulation.

Latest updates:
Gonchar took a slip-in from Turris to the head during warmups and is listed as day to day. Volchenkov sprained a lower-body muscle in the first period of the last game and only played a couple shifts in the second after that.

OTTAWA (19-15-5)
Goals leader: Milan Michalek (19)
Assists leader: Erik Karlsson (30)
Points leader: Jason Spezza (38)

Who's hot: Alfie has 11 points in his last 8 games; Karlsson has 9 points in his last 7, although both were held off the scoresheet against Buffalo. Craig Anderson is 2-0-0, 1.10, .956 in his last 2 games.
Who's cold: Spezza has 1 point in his last 5. Foligno has 3 points in his last 10.

Projected lines:

FORWARDS
Greening - Spezza -Michalek
Condra - Turris - Alfredsson
Foligno - Smith - Butler
Daugavins - Konopka - Neil

DEFENCE
Filip Kuba - Erik Karlsson
Jared Cowen - Sergei Gonchar*
Chris Phillips - Brian Lee

*Gonchar took a puck to the head (a slip-in from Turris during warmups) and is listed day to day.

GOALIES
Craig Anderson (projected starter)
Alex Auld

New Jersey (21-15-1)
Goals leader: Elias (13)
Assists leader: Elias (21)
Points leader: Elias (34)

Who's hot: Elias (who else) has 4 points in his last 2 games, Volchenkov has 3 points in his last 3 (but he is expected to miss tonight's game with a leg injury). Same 3 in 2 for Kovalchuk. Parisee has 11 points in his last 9, while rookie Adam Henrique has 17 points in his last 17.

Who's cold: Zubrus and Zajac both have 0 points in their last 4 and 3games, respectively.

Projected Lines:
FORWARDS
Parisee - Henrique - Kovalchuk
Sykora - Elias - Zubrus
Tedenby - Zajac - Clarkson
Sestito - Carter - Janssen

DEFENCE
Volchekkov* - Foster
Salvador - Larsson
Tallinder - Fayne

*Volchenkov sprained a lower-body muscle in the 1st, returned for two shifts in the second but could not continue. He's expected to miss tonight.

GOALIES
Brodeur (confirmed starter)
Hedberg

NHL Game Day Preview: http://www.nhl.com/ice/preview.htm?id=2011020570
TSN Game Day Preview: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/scores/gameday/?hubname=nhl-senators

TSN Ice Chips for Ottawa: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/icechips/?hubname=nhl-senators

TSN Ice Chips for New Jersey: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/icechips/?hubname=nhl-devils



GO SENS GO!!!!

They should win this one. Coming off a back to back wins, at home, tons of momentum, and Anderson playing 2 solid games in a row.

They also need as many points as possible before that huge road trip because that's going to be near impossible to come out 500 or better on. The Western road swing kills Eastern teams.

Michalek needs to get scoring again... I think he finds the back of the net tonight.

GO SENS GO!!!

Michalek needs to start scoring again, and Spezza needs to start racking up the points again. Foligno needs to start moving his feet like he did 5-7 games ago. Turris needs to shoot more and score a few. Karlsson needs to continue being the best player on the team.

NEELY wrote:They should win this one. Coming off a back to back wins, at home, tons of momentum, and Anderson playing 2 solid games in a row.

They also need as many points as possible before that huge road trip because that's going to be near impossible to come out 500 or better on. The Western road swing kills Eastern teams.

I agree that they *should* win. If not for Auld they would have won the last one, likely in regulation, and they'd be 3 points ahead instead of tied. Accuscore has the Sens as a 60% favorite. Given that they had the Sabres as a 52% favorite in the previous game, I'd say "Yeah, so what." Volchenkov has been their best player of late -- leading both defensively *and* jumping in on offense. He's probably not playing tonight. Brodeur is riding a 3 game personal winning streak, and has been lights out the last two games with a pair of 3-1 wins against Buffalo and Pittsburgh; he'll be tough to beat. On the other hand, Anderson has also been lights out in his last two appearances, stopping all 17 shots taking over from Auld, and then stopping 26 of 28 against Buffalo.

Both goalies have been wildly inconsistent this season, both have been pulled multiple times. Really hard to predict what we will see from either one. I'm still holding out hope that Anderson's inconsistency had something to do with his eye situation, and that now that it's fixed he will put together a nice streak.

wprager wrote:Michalek needs to start scoring again

Yeah, I just said that.

As per Panzeri: Anderson goes tonight, Carkner looks to be the healthy scratch.

I assume Gonchar is good to go now after the puck to the head thingy.

shabbs wrote:As per Panzeri: Anderson goes tonight, Carkner looks to be the healthy scratch.

I assume Gonchar is good to go now after the puck to the head thingy.

He'll be the one wearing the helmet in warmups. And Turris should concentrate on firing pucks at the net.

shabbs wrote:

wprager wrote:Michalek needs to start scoring again

Yeah, I just said that.

Yeah, but I've been thinking about it since his first game back.

wprager wrote:

shabbs wrote:

wprager wrote:Michalek needs to start scoring again

Yeah, I just said that.

Yeah, but I've been thinking about it since his first game back.

You wanted him to pull a Crosby?

wprager wrote:Michalek needs to start scoring again, and Spezza needs to start racking up the points again. Foligno needs to start moving his feet like he did 5-7 games ago. Turris needs to shoot more and score a few. Karlsson needs to continue being the best player on the team.

Looks like it was Neil that launched the puck at Gonchar...

Panzeri: "Chris Neil has been revealed as the one who shot the puck that hit Sergei Gonchar in the head and knocked him out of the Buffalo game. #sens"

https://twitter.com/#!/allenpanzeri/status/153873861568495616

Head coach Paul MacLean confirmed that D Sergei Gonchar will play on Monday night against the Devils. - Team Release

shabbs wrote:

wprager wrote:Michalek needs to start scoring again, and Spezza needs to start racking up the points again. Foligno needs to start moving his feet like he did 5-7 games ago. Turris needs to shoot more and score a few. Karlsson needs to continue being the best player on the team.

Looks like it was Neil that launched the puck at Gonchar...

Panzeri: "Chris Neil has been revealed as the one who shot the puck that hit Sergei Gonchar in the head and knocked him out of the Buffalo game. #sens"

https://twitter.com/#!/allenpanzeri/status/153873861568495616

CBC *very clearly* showed a clip of Turris slipping the puck into the corner and Gonchar getting hit on the head. At the time I thought it was odd to miss because of that (I'm sure it hurt but I didn't think it was hard enough to knock him out of the game). So it's *possible* that he got dinged not once, but *twice*.

Winnable game. Go Sens!

SpezDispenser wrote:Winnable game. Go Sens!

Agree. However Habs game was "winnable" as well.