Ridiculous Excited

Now that the first round of cuts has been made by the Sens (which you can find here, if you haven't yet), things are starting to get a little more serious, and therefore a little more exciting.

With some of the guns in the line-up, we lit up the Habs, so with a roster that is by my estimation 75% of our starting line-up, I'm really excited to see how we play the Leafers tonight.

The game last night in Dundas was a cute idea, but I personally am glad we sent a Micky Mouse lineup. The ice surface was just too small, no room to move, and we just didnt need to risk having some of our top guys getting hurt in a game like that.

Now for tonight's game, the lineup, according to the Sens Twitter feed, looks like this

Michalek-Spezza-Alfie

Foligno-Fisher-Kovalev

Regin-Smith-Butler

Lessard-Bass-Keller

Gonchar-Campoli

Cowen-Karlsson

Weircoch-Carkner

Leclaire

So what about this excites me? Well aside from this being the first game where we will see all of our top 6 in the same game, there are a few things that make me salivate a little bit.

COWEN-KARLSSON

This should excite every one of you. This is most likely our top d-pairing in the coming years. Cowen, if he plays his game, should provide a physical presence in front of the net, while Karlsson can move the puck with the best of them. What I like about this pairing is they cover off each other's weaknesses. Karlsson obviously isn't very physical, and most complaints about Cowen so far have been about his decisions with the puck. Also, in Spokane, Cowen played with a smaller, more offensive player.

REGIN-SMITH-BUTLER

In a dream world for me, this is my third line to start the season. I know I will be crucified, but I think Kelly's line could split equal time with this line depending on what the game calls for. If the Sens need an infusion of offence, a line like this is MUCH more likely to produce it when compared to Kelly's line or a line of Winchester-Smith-Regin/Foligno. Hopefully this line has an unreal game tonight giving Clouston something to think about.

POWERPLAY

We are playing the Leafs, so chances are, one or two penalties will be taken. When that happens, I'm excited to see the powerplay on a few levels. Every forward expected to see PP time this year is in the lineup tonight, in addition to QBs Karlsson and Gonchar. With Campoli and Weircoch (how unreal was that shot last night btw?) on the second unit, we could see a preview of how the Sens will win games this year tonight.

LECLAIRE

Leclaire for 60 minutes with a pretty decent lineup in front of him. Hopefully he can play better than Elliott did against these same Leafs last week.

Game Day Preview: Ottawa at Atlanta

Apologies for the lack of Post-Game Roll Call after the battle of Ontario. It was a depressing game, and yesterday Oakes and I celebrated the Irish Culture a little too hard, so no Post game could be done then either.

Upon reading our battle of Ontario preview we decided it might be a touch too long... so I'll cut it down a bit this time, and maybe you guys can tell us what you prefer.

Without further ado... Let's see how our Sens match up against the Thrashers

FORWARDS

Thrashers: Since the departure of their superstar, the Thrashers have found that they can have a much more balanced attack. Their top two lines don't boast any big names, but Afinogenov-Antropov-Bergfors has played very well as of late, and Bergfors may help keep Don Waddell his job with 11 points in 14 games with the Thrashers. Don't underestimate the Thrashers offense however, because at 2.9 goals per game, they crack the top ten in the NHL

Senators: Much has been made about the Sens inability to find the back of the net since the Olympic break. The Sens offense is struggling right now, and confidence may be an issue. With Nick Foligno coming back last game and providing a spark and Mike Fisher possibly making a return, the Sens have a strong looking line-up that should find the net. Hopefully they are able to build confidence tonight.

OVERALL EDGE IN FORWARDS: Thrashers (due to confidence issues)

DEFENCE

Thrashers: Again, the Thrashers have a defensive core whose names don't inspire fear in opponents, but this is largely due to the fact they are younger players. Oduya, Bogosian and especially Enstrom are young, exciting players who in the next few years should give the Thrashers stability. Kubina and Hainsey provide some veteran leadership to this group. The only knock is that they really don't have a "shut-down" pair, which has resulted in them being 28th in the league for goals-against at 3.16 per game.

Senators: The (hopeful) return of Filip Kuba should help young Erik Karlsson get back to doing what he does best, without having to over-extend himself. Andy Sutton will be looking to prove something after being out of position on the second and third goals against Toronto on Tuesday. Philchenkov as always anchors the group and they will be charged with shutting down the solid Thrashers offense.

OVERALL EDGE IN DEFENCE: Senators

SPECIAL TEAMS

Powerplay: Ottawa's powerplay is ICE cold right now, but the return of Filip Kuba (hopefully) should help. While Ottawa has struggled, they remain at 15.5%, and the Thrashers are at 16.5% on the year. Now, without Kovalchuk on the left point, their powerplay doesn't strike much fear in opponents. This is a draw for me.

Penalty Kill: As stated in the last post, Ottawa's strong penalty kill has been a major reason for their position in the standings. Atlanta on the other hand is sitting in 22nd overall at 80.2%. Without question, Ottawa gets the edge here.

EDGE OVERALL IN SPECIAL TEAMS: Senators

Goaltending

Elliott vs Hedberg: Brian Elliott clearly has the confidence of coach Cory Clouston and hopefully he is right. I don't know if I'm sold. Regardless Hedberg has lost 4 of his last 5 starts, and his numbers have been poor (sub 900 save percentage). Neither team has goaltending as a strength.

EDGE OVERALL IN GOAL: Neither. It's a draw.

Players to Watch

Ottawa: I'm watching Nick Foligno. He looked excited to be in the line-up against the Buds, but looked a little rusty with the puck. Look for him to have a strong game.

Atlanta: For me, the return on Kovalchuk, Nick Bergfors, is the player to watch. He is coming into his own in this league and can put a couple in the back of the net if left unchecked.

Consensus Predictions:

Young: The boys haven't given me a reason to think they will win this game, and Atlanta is making their final push to the playoffs. Add in the fact that this is a road game, and this is a recipe for a sad night.

4-3 (SO) Atlanta

Oakes: Breakout game.... I hope. After the comments in the media the last few days I truly believe that they will come out flying and not let up. If Kuba comes back this is an Ottawa win hands down. People under estimate the stability he brings to the back end.

• 3-0 Ottawa
• We will score 1 pp goal.
• Greg Carvel will do a cart wheel on the bench.
• Kovalev will break out of his mini slump
• Sen's fans will rejoice.
• Little will fake illness to avoid a repeat of this