We've got some details on a potential Bobby Ryan return tonight, Chabot talks about his first NHL shootout attempt and more before the Sens host the Lightning tonight at Canadian Tire Centre.

1. Bobby's back?

No definite answer yet (we should probably know more late this afternoon when the coach addresses the media) but it appears that Bobby Ryan could return tonight against the Lightning.
"We thought it would be somewhere in this week or the end of this week or somewhere around there," said Boucher prior to yesterday's game in Chicago. "The decision is not final but I think he's available."
Ryan has missed the Sens last 10 games with yet another finger injury but has been skating on his own while recovering and appears set for a return.
"He's been on the ice so much so it's not about ice time," joked Boucher. "I think he's fed up of not playing in a game."

2. Chabot in the shootout

Fans have been clamouring for it ever since he was in Junior and last night Thomas Chabot took his first ever attempt in an NHL shootout which caught the rookie defender by surprise when he heard his name called.
"I looked at Guy and said 'Are you serious?'," Chabot said with a smile after last night's game in Chicago. "I was caught off guard because I didn't think I would go that early or at all. I wanted to go back to my forehand and try to roof it and obviously I missed but I just went over the puck and lost it."
Chabot's mishandling of the puck had many wondering if the 21-year-old was borrowing a move from one of the league's best as his attempt shared some similarities to the deke made famous by Tampa's Nikita Kucherov.
"It looked like I was trying to do the 'Kucherov move' but that wasn't what I wanted to do," Chabot shared post-game. "I just missed the puck and that happens."

It took Chabot 41 NHL contests before getting his first crack in the game-deciding skills competition but he's had an active advocate in Craig Anderson for weeks leading up to last night's initial attempt.
"Every game we go to a shootout he always tells me that he tried to push to get me out there," said Chabot about the Sens netminder. "It's fun that he likes the way I do shootouts but I disappointed him (laughs)."

3. Bolts waiting

The Lightning had the night off yesterday which means that while the Senators and Blackhawks were going back and forth for 65+ minutes, Tampa was back in Ottawa waiting for their opponents to return.
"We'll be trying to get rested for that one," Matt Duchene said post-game in Chicago. "They're another team that likes to play a similar brand of hockey as the Blackhawks so those are always fun games to play."
The Sens are 1-0-1 this season against Tampa (more on the most recent meeting below) and have fared pretty well against the top team in the Eastern Conference.
"They're the best team in the league but we've played well against them in the past," said Mark Stone. "Obviously we aren't going to have the legs that they do but we can jump on them early and come prepared to start on Thursday."

4. Previous meeting

These team last met in Ottawa back on January 6th with the Sens doubling up the Lightning 6-3 at Canadian Tire Centre. Offensively, Mark Stone and Erik Karlsson had 3 point nights for the Senators while Ryan Dzingel chipped in with a pair of goals to help topple Tampa Bay. Craig Anderson was stellar in goal providing the Sens with 45 saves on 48 shots to pick up the victory.
Full highlights from that game are below...

5. Where to watch

Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. tonight at Canadian Tire Centre and if you don't have them already,
click here
to grab some tickets.
You can also catch all the action live on TSN5 and RDS2 but if you're looking for a spot to head out and watch the game be sure to check out
Local Heroes
on Clyde Ave. where they'll be serving up personal picthers (32oz) of Molson Canadian for just $6.75.
Instagram from @senators: It's a #Sens game day! The Sens are back at CTC tonight set to host the Lightning at 7:30 p.m. #GoSensGo