Silver Nuggets: Don't hit that panic button

Here are your Senators headlines for today:

• Brian Elliott should be starting in net tonight, as he was first off the ice after the morning skate. (Mendes)
• Sportsnet's Ian Mendes puts on his rational cap and spits out this nugget of truth: "[The Sens] were never as good as we advertised during their 11-game winning streak. And the opposite is true right now: They are not as bad as we are making them out to be during this current dry spell." (Mendes)
• Ken Warren notes that despite the Senators' struggles, the math still puts them in the playoffs. (Citizen)
• Brandon Worley agrees, stating "they'll most likely stay in the playoffs based solely on the incredibly poor play of the other teams in the conference." (ProHockeyTalk)
  
• James Gordon with a quick look at what the future may hold for Jonathan Cheechoo. (Citizen)
• As usual, the prediction panel believes the Senators are going to win tonight's game against the Atlanta Thrashers. (Citizen)
• Andy Sutton: ""You don’t want to feel like it’s your fault, but you come in and the team doesn’t do well, it doesn’t bode well for your confidence early on." That's right, it's HIS fault! (Sun)

Around the league:

• Everyone's wondering if Matt Cooke will answer the bell when the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Boston Bruins for the first time since Cooke's headshot on Marc Savard. He didn't step up to fight Shean Donovan after kneeing him, but I'm not sure the Bs will let him out of the building. (Pensburgh)
• With their insane post-Olympic streak, the Canadiens are only a point behind Ottawa for fifth in the Conference. (NHL)
• There are no Senators among the league's least valuable players. Phew... (On The Forecheck)