Game Day 5: FLA vs OTT

The set up:

Tonight is Hockey Fights Cancer Night at Canadian Tire Centre and we're celebrating with our first match against last season's Eastern Conference champs. In recent memory these Sens vs Panthers games have been battles, with both sides trying to gain the physical edge. The 164 penalty minutes given out the last time they saw eachother pretty much sums that up.

The last time these two faced off at Canadian Tire Centre, it was the Senators that walked off the ice victorious. The Senators will look to capture that here again tonight as they aim to finish the month of November with a winning record, currently 4-4 in the month. With a line shake up tonight look for the depth of the Senators to be their true weapon. With nine skaters baosting double-digit points the Sens should be a handful for the visiting Panthers.

The Panthers come into this battle picking up right where they left off last season when they scratched and clawed their way to the Stanley Cup Final. Currently sitting in second place in the division the Cats have six skaters in double-digit points already led by Sam Reinhart with 25 points.

Roster report:

After sitting out against Minnesota and the Islanders Joonas Korpisalo will make his return to the ice tonight, likely backing up Anton Forsberg, though the starter has not been named by D.J. Smith yet. In a corresponding move the Senators have reassigned goaltender Mads Sogaard as well as forward Roby Jarventie to Belleville.

Defenceman Thomas Chabot shed the non-contact jersey during practice on Saturday indicating he is close to returning from an upper body injury sustained against the Islanders on October 26th. While that is welcomed news on the Senators side, Smith mentioned in his media availability on Saturday that Chabot will not be available in this game. Keep your eyes peeled for a potential retun against Columbus on Friday.

The Senators held an optional skate this morning at Canadian Tire Centre. Below is how the team lined up yesterday at practice:

Brady Tkachuk - Tim Stützle - Claude Giroux
Mathieu Joseph - Josh Norris - Drake Batherson
Dominik Kubalik - Rourke Chartier - Vladimir Tarasenko
Parker Kelly - Matthew Highmore - Zack MacEwen

Jake Sanderson - Artem Zub
Jakob Chychrun - Jacob Bernard-Docker
Erik Brännström - Travis Hamonic

Who to watch:

A proverbial sparkplug for the team this season, look for Mathieu Joseph to continue the trend here tonight as he's playing along a new line combination. Joseph has average a point per game this month with eight points in eight games typically playing alongside Tim Stützle and Claude Giroux. Tonight he lines up with Drake Batherson and Josh Norris and will look to pack a punch with his speed. Playing alongside Batherson coming off a two-goal outing against the Islanders could be a recipe for a big output!

Hockey Fights Cancer Night:

Tonight is Hockey Fights Cancer Night presented by CIBC at Canadian Tire Centre where we celebrate all those who have been impacted by cancer. There will be a variety of events tonight begininng with a special puck drop with young Sens fan Parker MacDonald dropping the puck alongside Michael Andlauer. Throughout the night we will be highlighting stories of those in our community impacted by cancer.

Michael Andlauer and his wife Lucie have generously announced that they will match up to $100,000 in contributions tonight. Here's are a few ways that you can contribute:

Purchasing 5050 tickets
Participating in the silent auction
Make a donation

All proceeds from the event will go towards supporting children's oncology through the CHEO Foundation as well as innovative healthcare options through the Bryan Murray Legacy Fund. Together we call all make a difference and help those most impacted!

Where to watch:

For fans not at Canadian Tire Centre tonight you can catch the game on Sportsnet with the English broadcast, and TVAS has you covered in French. Additionally, TSN1200 and Unique FM 94,5 have the radio call tonight in English and French respectively.