With two Ottawa Senators storylines going into Thursday's game against the Nashville Predators, you knew something special was going to happen. As it turns out, it was Chris Phillips who made it so.

Goals were exchanged, and the game was closer than it should have been considering the massive very, very effective powerplay the Sens had going for them. But really, in sum, there are two things you need to know: The Senators won 4-3, and Phillips provided exactly half of the offence.

Oh yeah, and the Sens are ahead of the Leafs in the standings again.

Sens Hero: Chris Phillips
On Thursday we were graced with the presence of Phillips' alter ago, Clutch Chris. Clutch Chris makes perfect passes, steps up in the play when appropriate, punishes opponents physically, and makes strong defensive plays. Unfortunately, Clutch Chris doesn't come around too often--mostly just in overtime, and occasionally for milestone games. He came out for his milestone 1,000th game against the Predators: He threw five hits, used his active stick to negate all sorts of Nashville pressure, and, of course, scored his first and second goals of the season. It was obviously his best game of the year--the latter standing up as the game-winner.

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The Ottawa Senators will try once more to snap their losing streak, which is currently sitting at seven games. Tonight, the opponents will be Mike Fisher and the Nashville Predators. That's not the only big event tonight though, as the game will also be the 1000th of Chris Phillips' career. Brian Lee and Bobby Butler will return to the lineup in the place of Zenon Konopka and Matt Carkner. Lastly, Alex Auld will start. (!!!)

Here are the lines from Nicolas St-Pierre:

Milan Michalek - Jason Spezza - Bobby Butler
Colin Greening - Kyle Turris - Daniel Alfredsson
Kaspars Daugavins - Zack Smith - Erik Condra
Nick Foligno - Jim O'Brien - Chris Neil

Filip Kuba - Erik Karlsson
Jared Cowen - Sergei Gonchar
Chris Phillips - Brian Lee

Alex Auld (starter)
Craig Anderson

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You'll be reading a lot about Chris Phillips' 1000th NHL game with the Ottawa Senators and Mike Fisher's return to this town over the course of the day, so I'll steer clear of those stories and talk about something else that could be pretty cool: The Ottawa 67s joining the Senators at Scotiabank Place for the next two seasons, while Lansdowne Park (and the Civic Centre) undergo some pretty major renovations.

For 67s fans, this might not be the best news, because these games are usually a cheaper option than Senators games, and an easier one to get to. Hopefully, with parking lot improvements aimed at improving OC Transpo service to SBP, it will be easier for 67s fans to get there.

As a Senators fan, though, I'm just hoping we get to see some double-headers. That would be awesome.

Links after the jump...

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6 - The number of starts Craig Anderson has made for the Ottawa Senators in the past 18 days, as of today. As your math skills can tell you, that's one start every three days. That pace is hardly the grind alarmist statements like, "Craig Anderson has started 18 consecutive games!" are so eager to imply. For the more visual among you, here is a beautiful feast for your eyeballs:

It's certainly true that Anderson's play has not been outstanding during the Senators' losing streak. But a simple visual interpretation should put an end to the conversation for everyone except those who want to live in denial. It seems difficult to imagine that overuse is the cause of Anderson's performance slippage when there is a clear, long window for both mental and physical recuperation. Perhaps instead, we should consider that Anderson's level of play (and consequently, his outrageous save percentage) during the Senators' winning streak was unsustainable, and that our expectations for him due to that extended run of excellence were out of sync with the reality of an 82-game season.

Editor's note: My name is Adnan and I approve this message.

We're looking at another group outing to go to the Senators-Sabres game on Saturday March 10 and you should join us to put some faces to the screen names you see on here.

Tickets will be somewhere around $50 for the lower 300L. If you're interested, email the address on my profile by the end of the weekend. Money will be due in the next week or two after the price is finalized. Our last two group outings were a great time, so come out and join us in cheering on your Sens!

The Senators faced a familiar face in net tonight as they looked for a win after six straight losses, but Brian Elliott and the St. Louis Blues closed the door on the Sens, winning Chris Phillips' 999th game by a 3-1 score.

Ottawa appeared to come out of the gate strong, getting two good chances within the opening minute. Unfortunately, the wheels started falling off shortly afterward, with the Blues getting two quick goals in the game's first five minutes. The first was a Roman Polak point shot that was tipped in by Chris Porter less than two minutes in, while the second came as David Perron was allowed to walk right in front of Craig Anderson and bury it. After letting in two goals on four shots, Anderson was pulled.

After getting down by two, the Senators started to improve. Daniel Alfredsson got the team on the board with a powerplay goal less than a minute into the second period, bringing the Senators within one. The team started to control the play a bit, and a comeback seemed possible. Unfortunately, the Blues played terrific defense -- the team is simply relentless within their own zone -- and managed to capitalize on an Erik Karlsson giveaway as David Perron scored his second of the game to give his team another two-goal lead.

Unforunately, that 3-1 score would remain for the rest of the game. Ottawa had their chances, but simply couldn't bury them. They finished ahead in the shots department 29-18, something that they've been surprisingly good at as of late (during this losing streak, they've outshot their opponents in 5 of 7 games).

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The Ottawa Senators will try to end their losing streak at six-games tonight when they host Brian Elliott and the St. Louis Blues. The Senators skid has seen them drop to eighth in the standings, three points ahead of ninth place Washington with the Capitals having three games in hand. A win tonight will go a long way towards righting the ship.

There will no changes tonight. Craig Anderson starts again, Bobby Butler is a scratch again. Here are the lines from Sylvain St-Laurent:

Colin Greening - Jason Spezza - Milan Michalek
Erik Condra - Kyle Turris - Daniel Alfredsson
Nick Foligno - Zack Smith - Chris Neil
Kaspars Daugavins - Zenon Konopka - Jim O'Brien

Filip Kuba - Erik Karlsson
Jared Cowen - Sergei Gonchar
Chris Phillips - Matt Carkner

Craig Anderson (starter)
Alex Auld

GO SENS GO!

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