Game Day Notes: Sens vs. Lightning

The Sens are right back on the ice tonight at Canadian Tire Centre and here's everything we know about their line-up against the Lightning.

Game #2,000

A bit of cool history for tonight as the Sens and Lightning will square off in each franchise's 2,000th NHL game. Ottawa and Tampa Bay joined the NHL as expansion teams for the 1992-93 season and since their debut the Sentors hold a record of 56-34-2-6 in their 98 regular season meetings.
Here are a few more cool stats that we shared earlier this week in our Pro-Line Weekend Rundown:

In honour of tonight's historic game, NHL.com did a great job at putting together a chronological list of each team's major moments since joining the National Hockey League. You can check them all out
here
.

White at home in Ottawa

After spending time between the AHL and NHL last season and starting this season in a hotel room, Colin White recently got the go ahead to find a more permanent living space in Ottawa this year.
"I was actually just working out in the gym and they came up to me and told me that I can get a place now," White recalled. "It was as simple as that really."
The daily grind of the NHL is tough as it is and White has already noticed a difference in his mindset now that he's locked down his own place in the city.
"For starters it helped my confidence," said White. "Now I can get settled in a little more. I actually just got a place so it's nice to come home to your own spot with your own couch and your own TV. Definitely beats the hotel life."
When asked what he missed most from spending weeks at a time in a hotel, it didn't take the 21-year-old come up with an answer.
"Cooking your own meals for sure," he joked. "Being able to have people over too is pretty big. Play a little Fortnite with the guys, watch some TV…it's nice to have a little more space than a room with a bed and a TV in it."
White shared that the reassurance that he's here to stay in Ottawa this season has helped his play on the ice as well and he's off to a productive start to his 2018-19 campaign.
"I knew I had it in me," White said about his offensive production. "Part of it is just confidence too. I'm a little more comfortable with holding on to the puck and seeing the plays before they happen."

Up Front

No changes are expected at forward for the Senators tonight as they will once again roll with the 11/7 deployment. One thing that will need to change this evening is the team's start as they came out flat yesterday in Buffalo and ended up on the wrong side of a 9-2 defeat.
"The players and staff know that we didn't start well," said head coach Guy Boucher on yesterday's loss to the Sabres. "On the other side, they were outstanding. That was the best I'd seen Buffalo look by far and I guess we weren't ready for that emotion investment that they had."

Just an optional skate this morning so here's a look at tonight's projected forward lines:
Dzingel - Duchene - Stone
Boedker - Tierney - Ryan
Paul - White - Paajarvi
McCormick - Pyatt

On Defence

The Sens will get some help back on the blueline tonight as Mark Borowiecki will return to action after serving his three game suspension for a hit to the head against the Golden Knights. Borowiecki has been sanctioned twice by the NHL this season for high hits and is excited to get back into the line-up after watching the last 3 games from the sidelines.
"I was skating with Brady yesterday and I really felt the itch to get back," said Borowiecki. "Hopefully we're going to be a little hungrier tonight. We were licking our wounds a little bit thins morning but we're ready to rock and get back on track."

With Borowiecki back, here are the projected defence pairings:
Chabot - DeMelo
Lajoie - Ceci
Borowiecki - Jaros
Wideman

In Goal

Craig Anderson (5-4-2) gets the start in goal again today and is also looking to rebound following a forgetable performance in Buffalo yesterday. Anderson's day ended rather quickly after surrendering 3 goals in the first period but emphasized the importance of having "short term memory" after today's optional skate.
"The best thing is to just get back in there and play again," said Anderson. "We have to make sure that we're ready from the start and get off to a good first 5-10 minutes."

Where to Watch

It's a 7 p.m. start at Canadian Tire Centre and you can join us by grabbing some tickets
right here
.
Can't make it to the rink? Round up some people and head over to the Glue Pot Pub on Queen St. where they'll be serving up $6 tall cans of Molson Canadian during the game.