Pre-season Game Notes: Sens vs. Blackhawks

We're closing in on the halfway mark of the pre-season but roster decisions appear to be on the horizon and this weekend's back-to-back could go a long way to helping head coach Guy Boucher narrow down his final group. Here are a few things to keep an eye on tonight…

Up Front

Jean-Gabriel Pageau's achilles injury still looms pretty large over the Sens line-up for 2018-19. With the Sens down a centre for at least the next 6 months, they've been auditioning a few young forwards to see if any of them are ready to make the leap to the NHL this year.
Based off of today's morning skate and the Sens rosters that were released for this weekend, Logan Brown and Filip Chlapik appear to be getting a long look down the middle and each is set to appear in the team's next two contests.
"I'm excited to get out there and play with some full-time NHL guys this weekend," said Brown following today's practice. "I'm excited to make some plays and show them that I belong."
Brown appeared in 4 NHL games last season and recorded one assist over that span before returning to the OHL where he put up 48 points in 32 games split between Windsor and Kitchener. A natural centre, he'll look to capitalize on skating with some new linemates tonight in Zack Smith and Drake Batherson as he continues his push for an NHL spot this year.
"There's definitely a spot to be taken there," said Boucher of Brown. "Whether it's him or whether it's Chlapik, who played terrific last game, we're looking for someone who can fill a centreman role."

NEWS: [Chlapik and Balcers click for Senators ]

Chlapik, who scored the Sens' lone goal on Wednesday night against the Maple Leafs, was flanked by Alex Formenton and Jack Skille during this morning's skate and he hopes to build off his strong training camp tonight against Chicago.
"I just have to not overthink things and play my game," said Chlapik about preparing for this weekend. "Most importantly, I have to have fun on the ice because that's when I play my best. Be happy, come to the rink with a smile and just enjoy the opportunity here."
Here's a look at the Sens projected forward lines against Chicago:
Dzingel - Duchene - Boedker
Formenton - Chlapik - Skille
Smith - Brown - Batherson
Kelly - Balisy - Sexton

On D

The Sens are set to receive a boost on defence as Thomas Chabot makes his pre-season debut tonight. Chabot travelled with the team to Lucan, ON earlier this week but didn't end up skating in the main event of Kraft Hockeyville against the Maple Leafs.
While he's yet to play in either of the team's first two exhibition games this year, Chabot has remained active and is looking forward to seeing some live game action against the Blackhawks this everning.
"We're just trying to get ready for the season," said Chabot. "I didn't play in the first two games but I made sure that I had a good skate in every day as well as working out off the ice."

Chabot spent the majority of last year in Ottawa and finished second on the team in scoring among defencemen with 25 points in 63 games. With a solid rookie campaign under his belt, he's expecting to see his role grow in his sophomore season.
"Towards the end of last season, I was getting a bigger role and more ice time," he said. "When I talked to Guy this summer he told me that I'm going to have a bigger role so I kind of expected that and got ready in the offseason."
Here's how tonight's projected defence pairings looked this morning:
Chabot - DeMelo
Harpur - Wideman
Englund - Burgdoerfer

In goal

Mike Condon gets his second start of the pre-season tonight and looks to build off a solid outing in the first half of Tuesday's game against the Maple Leafs. Condon stopped 18 of the 20 shots he faced in Lucan is expected to split tonight's game with 20-year-old Filip Gustavsson, who will see his first action in Canadian Tire Centre since being acquired from the Penguins last February.
"It's going to be so fun to go out there and play," said Gustavsson. "Coming into camp I thought it was going to be hard and it was. They have high expectations for me and I think I've performed better and better every day so it feels good."
Gustavsson appeared in 7 games for the Belleville Senators last season which he credited with helping him adjust to the smaller ice surface and the speed of the pro game in North America.
"Those games showed what my weaknesses are on this ice," he said of his short stint in the AHL last year. "We spent some time working on that in the off-season and now I think we've taken it one step further."