yet another 2 in 2

Posted by Gord Wilson on December 27, 2007

Greetings everyone from the bowels of Scotiabank Place on this, the 27th of December. If  you're  enjoying time off, I hope it's time well spent. Senators haven't had  much time off, but their time at the  rink certainly has been well spent. Going  8-1-1 in their last  10 games is a testament to the depth of the organization and the willingness of others to elevate their play.

No Volchenkov, no Eaves and no Joe Corvo (out tonight for his thirrd straight) means others have been given more ice time and taken advantage of it. Namely Shean Donovan and Christoph Schubert. Both have seen their ice time increase by about five minutes  per game and neither has missed a beat.

No changes are expected for the Senators tonight as they host the Islanders. Martin Gerber starts in goal, Brian McGrattan is expected to be a healthy scratch. That  means Cody Bass plays his sixth straight game.

As for the Islanders, they come to town winners of three straight, including a 4-3 overtime win over the Leafs last night. They're the lowest scoring team in the NHL, yet still have a winning record at 18-15-2.

Rick DiPietro has been in goal for 16 of those 18 wins but won't play tonight. He's out with a knee injury.  Wade Dubielewicz gets the  nod. He stopped 22 shots in 45 minutes of work last night against the Leafs.

Despite losing the first  game of this four-game series with the Islanders at the end of November, the Senators have enjoyed a great deal of success against New York in the past.

In fact, Ottawa has lost only five of its last 43 matchups with the Isles.

Game time tonight is 7:30, this one can be seen on  A-Channel, yours truly and Dean Brown with the call, and can be heard  all along the Team 1200 radio network, with Dave Schreiber and Shawn Van Allen.

Enjoy the game everyone,

cheers, gord