The month of November has been one of mixed blessings for the Ottawa Senators. In the standings, there are no complaints - the Sens are 7-3-1 for the month, have won five of their last six, and come into tonight's game in first place in the Northeast Division. However, these gains have not come without a price, and the price has mainly been injuries. In just this month, Mike Fisher, Anton Volchenkov, Alexei Kovalev, Shean Donovan, Pascal Leclaire, and Chris Neil have all been out of the lineup at some point. Only Kovalev has returned to the lineup thus far, so it has been very much up to the rest of the team to step up in recent games.
The team will face a tough test tonight (7:00PM CBC Ottawa TV; Team 1200 Radio) in the division rival Boston Bruins, who are nipping at their heels for first place in the division - the teams are tied with 29 points, but Ottawa has two games in hand. The Bruins have surged of late as well, just having a four game winning streak of their own snapped in New Jersey last night.
Both teams have kept their team doctors hard at work recently, with the Bruins also having lost Milan Lucic, and Tim Thomas to injuries. But the medicine seems to be starting to work, as Mike Fisher will return to the Senators lineup tonight after missing two games with an 'upper body injury;' and according to the Boston Globe's Kevin Paul Dupont, Tim Thomas is likely to return to the Bruins' net tonight, after missing two weeks with a hand injury. The Senators have also shuffled the deck more by sending D, Brian Lee back down to Binghamton, and recalling D, Erik Karlsson. When Karlsson plays tonight, it will mark his tenth NHL game this season, meaning the Senators will have officially used his first year of entry-level contract status.
The Senators are beginning a five game road trip tonight that will from here, take them to San Jose, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Anaheim. The trip will keep them on the road until December 8th.
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