The modern-day Ottawa Senators franchise has played more games with Chris Phillips patrolling the blue line than they have without him. Few statistics can better explain how much the 1998 1996 first-overall pick has meant to the organization. There have been good times and bad with Phillips, but no one can question his contributions to the team and the community. It was fitting, then, to watch him honoured with an impressive pre-game ceremony in advance of the team's game against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday afternoon. For those of you who missed the broadcast, Sens TV recorded it, and the videos are presented below.

First off, the presentation of a painting, a watch, a puck, and a stick to Phillips from his boss, his teammates, and the NHL, along with a speech of gratitude from Phillips himself, and the ceremonial face-off.

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Just hours before their game against the New York Islanders, the Ottawa Senators announced that they'd recalled centre Jim O'Brien from the Binghamton Senators.

The move appears to be a precautionary one in the event that Jason Spezza, who missed practice Friday morning due to 'soreness,' was unable to play against the Islanders. Reports state, though, that Spezza will be good to go, which is great because I bet that he'd outscore John Tavares in tonight's game.

O'Brien has just 14P (7G, 7A) in 27GP so far this season with Bingo, but six of those points have come in the last four games. He`s played six NHL games in his career, registering no points and two penalty minutes.

Ian Mendes is reporting that Andre Petersson will play his first NHL game today against the Anaheim Ducks, and all things considered, it's a pretty remarkable feat. At this time last year, some were wondering if his injuries would allow him to play at all this season, let alone in the NHL.

For those who haven't followed the saga of Petersson, he was drafted in the 4th round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, the same draft where fellow Swede Erik Karlsson was selected 15th overall and current fan favourite Zack Smith was picked in the third round. Petersson played in the 2009 and 2010 World Junior Hockey Championships (winning Silver and Bronze, respectively), but it was the 2010 tourney was his coming out party. Petersson finished the 2010 tourney tied with Jordan Eberle as the leader in goals with 8 goals in just 6 games, and was sixth in points with 11. That year was his first full SEL season, and he scored 10 goals and 15 points in 37 games -- very respectable numbers in one of the world's top leagues.

Things weren't so rosy the next year, as Petersson had to shut down his season due to a recurring back injury. The pain bothered him for a year and a half before he finally decided to go to Ottawa for treatment, and was rewarded with a symptom free back just a few months later. Oh, he was also rewarded with a three-year contract with the Senators. He stuck around Ottawa and received rave reviews for his skill from Binghamton Senators coach Kurt Kleinendorst:

"We’ve said all along that he may be our most skilled player."

"Honestly, I don’t know that you could watch him play and look for skills and say that he’s got a weakness at anything."

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Two of the Ottawa Senators' best offensive prospects combined to score five goals in opening day action at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Edmonton, Alberta on Monday.

Winger Mark Stone scored a hat trick for Canada in their 8-1 win over Team Finland, which earned him player of the game honours for Canada. He finished the night with five shots on net and a plus-3 rating.

In a later game, 2011 first-round draft choice Mika Zibanejad scored two goals of his own as his Swedish squad beat Latvia by a 9-4 score. Both of Zibanejad's goals were powerplay markers, and the centre-turned-winger finished with a minus-1 rating.

Fredrik Claessen was also representing Sweden in that later game, but finished the game with no points, no shots, and a plus-1 rating.

The fourth and final Senators prospect in the tournament is Jakub Culek, whose Czech Republic squad begins play Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST.

Canada and Sweden will each play their second games of the tournament on Wednesday, with the Swedes taking on the Swiss just before Canada plays the Czechs.

The Ottawa Senators announced today that they are (finally) upgrading the scoreboard at Scotiabank Place.

The specs: The screen is more than four times as large as the screen on the old scoreboard and has an LED HD display that's nine times clearer than the current one.

It's billed as a Christmas gift of sorts for Sens fans, and replacement will start as soon as the Dec. 22 game against the Florida Panthers ends, and will be completed by the team's Dec. 27 game against the Montreal Canadiens--and a little under a month before the eyes of the league converge on Ottawa for the NHL All-Star Game.

From the team's press release:

The Senators partnered with Panasonic, who is creating and installing the Bell HD Screen using the latest technology. The main screens boast the most advanced 6mm LED technology in the marketplace today. The surface mount diodes (SMD) will allow the system to produce over 2,000 nits of brightness and will provide viewing angles that approach 160 degrees in all directions. Each main screen contains 691,200 pixels, providing a resolution nine times clearer than the existing video screens.

"Panasonic is pleased to partner with the Senators to bring this spectacular new scoreboard to Scotiabank Place," said James Doyle, president, Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Company. "The technology and engineering are a true reflection of Panasonic’s quality and technology leadership, and we worked closely to meet the Senators’ objectives in bringing this solution to life, with the ultimate goal of enhancing the fan experience."

The centre-hung scoreboard was designed and procured through Anthony James Partners, a Canadian-owned consulting firm based in Richmond, Va. Ottawa native and AJP principal Michael Rowe has been working with the Senators for the past year to develop one of the most distinctive systems in the NHL today.

As a cheap bastard who usually sits in the 300s despite poor eyesight, I'm definitely looking forward to the new scoreboard. I'll definitely be making a hockey lovin' face when I get to see it.

Many are reporting that, for the second time in three seasons, left winger Nikita Filatov has been loaned from his NHL team in order to join CSKA Moscow of the Continental Hockey League (KHL). His NHL rights remain with the Ottawa Senators.

The sixth-overall draft pick from the 2008 NHL Entry Draft was acquired by the Senators from the Columbus Blue Jackets this off-season, but played just nine games (and a combined 88 minutes, 22 seconds of ice time) with Ottawa over the course of several call-ups, notching one assist in that time. He also played 15 games with the AHL's Binghamton Senators, netting 12 points (7G, 5A) over those matches.

During Filatov's most recent assignment to the Binghamton Senators, rumours came out that the 21-year-old wanted to return to Russia to play for CSKA. Shortly after the rumours came up, Ottawa re-called Filatov and played him in three more NHL games (although he didn't play much in one of those due to a skate to the face), but was scratched for five straight games after those ones. He's now been loaned to CSKA to play in the KHL.

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The Ottawa Senators have made quite a few lineup changes for tonight's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In a surprise move (at least it was a surprise to me), Robin Lehner will be starting in nets for the Sens after Craig Anderson played last night. Cory Clouston wasn't shy to play the same goaltender in back-to-back games, but it appears Paul MacLean isn't as keen on the idea. Tonight's game will be Lehner's first start of the year, and his first regular-season game as part of the Battle of Ontario. His NHL record so far is 1-4 with a 3.52 GAA and a .888 SP.

Up front, Bobby Butler is in the lineup tonight to fill in for Daniel Alfredsson. Many assumed Nikita Filatov, who was recalled yesterday, would play, but some are speculating that the Filatov recall was recalled in the event Zenon Konopka was suspended (which he hasn't been). Either way, Filatov appears to be sitting in the press box tonight.

There have been no updates on the health of Alfredsson.

The most debated issue of this early Ottawa Senators season is no longer up for debate: The Senators have returned rookie Mika Zibanejad to Djurgårdens IF of the Swedish Elite League for the 2011-12 season.

In his nine-game stint with the Senators, Zibanejad had one assist, two penalty minutes, and was -3 while playing between 11 and 15 minutes per night. He definitely appeared physically capable of playing in the NHL, but aspects of his game will need to be refined over the course of the season, particularly his puckhandling, puck control, and shooting skills.

Zibanejad had just 9P (5G, 4A) with Djurgårdens last season, but, heck, he was only 17 for much of the year. One would assume Zibanejad will become one of the go-to players for 2011-12. He's a big kid and will be one of few guys on the roster with NHL experience, and he can skate very well. Whether he will have the kind of breakout season David Rundblad has last year with Skelleftea remains to be seen, but Zibanejad certainly has the tools to be a dominant player in the Elitserien. We can also expect to see him suit up in a leadership role with Sweden's U-20 squad at the World Junior Hockey Championships this upcoming January.

Whatever happens this season, Zibanejad has shown that he's very close to being a good to very good NHL player. Another year developing in Sweden should help him get there.

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