Game Day Notes: Game #42 - Sens vs. Lightning
by Craig Medaglia @craigmedaglia / Ottawa Senators
We've got the latest on the Sens' projected line-up, starting goaltender and more before the puck drops against the Lightning at 7 p.m.
Projected line-up
The biggest change to tonight's game roster is the addition of Mike Reilly who was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday evening. The Sens have been absolutely devasted by injuries on their blueline (although return dates for Nikita Zaitsev, Dylan DeMelo and Ron Hainsey all seem to be approaching sooner rather than later) and hope that Reilly can provide some short-term depth while they evaluate the 26-year-old's long-term potential.
"They've had a lot of good defencemen get injured and you don't want to see that happen to anybody," said Reilly following his first practice with his new team. "I'm going to come in and take advantage of this opportunity and just try to get back to playing my game."
Up front, Sens head coach D.J. Smith will wait until after warm-up to finalize his forward lines as Anthony Duclair, who missed practice yesterday, is dealing with the repurcussions of blocking a shot in Thursday's loss to the Panthers.
UPDATE (1:30 p.m.): With Duclair a question mark for tonight the Sens have recalled Drake Batherson from Belleville. In 33 GPs with the BSens this season, Batherson leads the AHL in scoring with 41 points (13G, 28A) and is tops among all forwards in plus/minus at +20.
With what we know pre-game, here's my best guess at the Sens' projected line-up against Tampa Bay:
Tkachuk - Tierney - Duclair*
Paul - Pageau - C. Brown
Balcers - White - Ennis
Namestnikov - Anisimov - Sabourin
Chabot - Borowiecki
Reilly - Goloubef
Englund - Jaros
*game-time decision
In goal
The Sens will go with Craig Anderson (6-9-1) between the pipes tonight against the Lightning as the veteran netminder looks to bounce back after a 6-3 loss to the Panthers on Thursday. Anderson does hold a victory over Tampa Bay already this season way back on Oct. 12th where he stopped 19 of the 21 shots he faced to earn a 4-2 decision.
Previous meeting
These teams last met in Tampa on Dec. 17th where the Lightning scored a 4-3 overtime win against the visiting Senators. Chris Tierney led the way for the Sens offensively with a pair of assists while Marcus Hogberg was busy in defeat stopping 36 of the 40 shots sent his way.
Full highlights from that game below:
Video: OTT Recap: Brown, Duclair score as rally falls short
Where to watch
It's a 7 p.m. start at Canadian Tire Centre and here's all the ways you can catch the Sens and Lightning tonight...
BROADCAST: Sportsnet ONE
TICKETS: ottsens.com/SensTicketHub
RADIO: TSN 1200, 94,5 Unique FM
Can't make it to the rink? Grab some friends and head on over to our Molson Canadian Watch Party at the St. Louis Bar & Grill on Clyde Ave. where they'll be serving up Devils pints of Molson Canadian for $7.98 and giving out some sweet swag and prizes during the game.
To find out where our next watch party will be and specials you can enjoy, visit the full schedule click here.