Sens head coach Guy Boucher confirmed that Johnny Oduya won't return to the line-up after joining the team in Calgary today but will likely factor in for tomorrow's game against the Oilers. Oduya was injured in the Sens' first game of the season and stayed back in Ottawa for the start of the team's Western Canadian road trip to rehab.
With Oduya out for tonight, the coach now needs to decide if he'll deploy the same line-up as last game (11 forwards and 7 defencemen) or roll with a more traditional line-up.
"I'm a big fan of 11 and 7," said Boucher after the team's skate. "That's what I did in Midget, Junior, the American League and my first year in Tampa. We have the option now to go with 12 and 6 because we know our guys are healthy though."
The coach mentioned that if one of their young forwards does draw into the line-up it will most likely be Logan Brown. That would mean that eitherThomas Chabot or Christian Jaros, who both received praise from the coach and general manager after their play in the team's first win of the season in Vancouver on Tuesday, would come out of the line-up to make room.
Looking across the ice tonight, Boucher acknowledged that the Flames have retooled since last season and is expecting a much tougher game as a result.
"I think they've added some really good pieces to their group so they're a better team than they were last year," said Boucher of tonight's opponent. "We're expecting a really difficult game, but we're excited."
