More photos » Jeff McIntosh - AP

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• Cory Clouston said that both goalies would play on this road trip, so people expect Pascal Leclaire to get the start tonight against the Vancouver Canucks tonight. (Citizen)
• The panelists are just about split on predicting tonight's game: Four pick Ottawa, three (including yours truly) picked Vancouver. (Citizen)
• Scouting report: The Sens are having a hard time scoring. (Vancouver Sun)
• Over and done with now, but Clouston and Milan Michalek maintain that Michalek's tip-in against Calgary should have been a goal. (Sun)
• The Senators-Flyers brawl tops the list of the NHL's biggest brawls of the last 23 years. (Behind The Net)

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More photos » John Ulan - AP

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• UPDATE: Brian Elliott will start in net for the Senators. Chris Kelly missed the morning skate, but should be fine to go when the puck drops. (Mendes)
• The Ottawa Senators last victory in Calgary, against the Flames? More than seven years ago. (Province)
• With that in mind, the Sens are going to make sure not to underestimate the Flames tonight. (Sun)
• Milks is the odd man out on the prediction panel again today; everyone else is calling for an Ottawa Senators win. (Citizen)
• Daniel Alfredsson, Alex Kovalev, Andy Sutton and Matt Carkner all missed practice yesterday, but don't worry: They're expected to be in the lineup tonight. (Citizen)
• Points are always important in the league, but they're especially important now, as the Senators try to keep pace (and overcome) the Sabres for the Northeast Division lead. (Citizen)

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More photos » John Ulan - AP

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Hi everybody! Here are some Ottawa Senators stories for you to check out today:

• Bruce McCurdy looks at just how dominant the Ottawa Senators were last night against the Edmonton Oilers. How about this: Ottawa had 40 offensive zone face offs, Edmonton had just 12. (Copper & Blue)
• Derek Zona shows that it's not all rosy, though. He crunches a few other numbers to show how it really makes no sense that the Senators have been so successful given some of the team's mediocre statistics. (Copper & Blue)
• Brandon Worley takes a quick look at the goaltending carousel in Ottawa. (Pro Hockey Talk)
• The Citizen looks at the goaltending controversy and Clouston's decision to play Elliott because he has better numbers, despite Leclaire coming off a great game. Then, in traditional Ottawa newspaper fashion, it closes with a wistful mention of "the real goalie of the future, Swede Robin Lehner." (Citizen)
• Speaking of Lehner, I can't remember if we posted this already but here's a month old interview with him that is a good read. (GM Hockey)
• Wyshynski points out that Ryan Whitney should have gotten at least a double-minor for cross checking Chris Neil in the face last night. (Puck Daddy)

More photos » Pawel Dwulit - AP

Hands around the world fundraiser, I'm pretty sure.

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• Looks like Brian Elliott gets the start tonight. Jesse Winchester also will be in the lineup, with Shean Donovan sitting out. (Sens)
• Even if we have concerns over Leclaire's physical state, at least he seems to be in the right mental state judging by his responses to questions from the media. (Sun)
• The prediction panel is largely calling Ottawa over Edmonton tonight, with one exception: Milks from Black Aces thinks the Oilers will get the win. (Citizen)
• A few Senators spoke out about headshots, particularly Matt Cooke's hit on Marc Savard, condemning the hits. (Citizen)

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More photos » Pawel Dwulit - AP

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Here are some Senators headlines for any of you with a case of the Mondays:

• All Senators hit the ice today at practice, including Nick Foligno who skated alone.(Mendes)
• Foligno might even be able to join the team at some point on the road trip. That would be a huge boost for the team, even if it is unlikely. (Mendes)
• Roy MacGregor looks at how bad the flu was on the Senators' bench. "'A couple of times you're calling a player's name," an exasperated Clouston said, "and he's not on the bench."' (Globe)
• James Gordon looks at the importance of the upcoming road trip to Alberta and BC. (National Post)
• Nichols examines possible reasons that Colton Orr held up three fingers after his bout with Matt Carkner on Saturday. (The 6th Sens)
• The Fourth Period reports that progress is being made on getting a deal done with Anton Volchenkov, and that Volchenkov seems intent on staying in Ottawa. Let's hope so. (Fourth Period)

A final note: tomorrow morning we'll be posting an extremely thorough look at the Ottawa Senators' goaltenders and goaltending prospects. Justin Goldman, scout for McKeen's and founder of The Goalie Guild gives us his take on the goaltending situation, and you won't want to miss his in-depth analysis.

More photos » Fred Chartrand - AP

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H/T to Elliotte Friedman for reminding me of Owen Nolan's infamous statement. Anyways, here are your stories for game day:

• UPDATE: Zach Smith has been recalled for tonight's game. (Marek)
• There's a flu bug going around the Ottawa Senators' dressing room, so there could be plenty of lineup changes for tonight's game against (of course) the Leafs. They always get the flu-ridden Sens, don't they? (Citizen)
• Biggest story from the flu? Looks like Brian Elliott has the flu, and therefore Pascal Leclaire will probably get the start after being pulled 7 minutes into last game. (Garrioch)
  
• When asked if pulling Leclaire was fair, coach Cory Clouston simply replied, "There's no such thing as fair in hockey. We're trying to win games." (Citizen)
• When asked if he was gearing up to fight Colton Orr tonight, Matt Carkner responded "Am I looking for it? What do you think? I'll just let everyone guess out there." (Mendes)
• Another Ottawa Senators blog deems tonight's game a must win. The flu might disagree. (AOSB)
• If you have NHL Network, you can watch Sens prospect Mike Hoffman and the Saint John Sea Dogs take on the Moncton Wildcats at 7:00pm on March 14. (Oursports)
  

More photos » FRED CHARTRAND - AP

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• Matt Cullen's been bumped "down" to the third line for tonight's game against the Hurricanes, but playing with Ryan Shannon and Chris Neil should provide a good balance on his wings--plus he's back at centre, his natural position. Lines for tonight: Michalek-Spezza-Alfredsson; Regin-Fisher-Kovalev; Shannon-Cullen-Neil; Ruutu-Kelly-Donovan. (Sens)
• That's right, Shean Donovan is in tonight instead of Jesse Winchester. Great to see Chum back in the lineup. Also, Pascal Leclaire gets the start in net -- his first since January 12th. (Sens)
  
• Not bad: Don Brennan dubbed 6'6", 245lb defenceman Andy Sutton 'Mount Sutton'. Decent nickname. Sutton's expected to lineup alongside Erik Karlsson on the Sens' second pairing, at least until Filip Kuba returns from injury. (Sun)
• Around the Northeast Division, deadline day didn't bring much to fear aside from Buffalo: The Sabres did well for themselves, picking up scoring depth from Raffi Torres; the Bruins dump one defenceman (Derek Morris), but got a slightly better one with Dennis Seidenberg--still, no forwards; the Canadiens had acquired Dominic Moore, but all they did on deadline day was dump Matt D'Agostini; and the Leafs continued to blow up the team, picking up prosects and picks in the process.
• Wyshynski gave the Senators a B+ grade on their deadline (or pseudo-deadline) trading, although he only took Sutton into consideration; you could argue Cullen was a deadline deal, too. Pittsburgh scored an A, the best mark awarded. (Puck Daddy)

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More photos » David Zalubowski - ASSOCIATED PRESS

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I'm expecting trade deadline day will be pretty quiet for the Senators, so here are some stories for you to read:

• ESPN's Pierre Lebrun likes what Bryan Murray has done: making moves in advance of the trade deadline to ensure you get the guys you want, rather than wait until 3pm EST and end up missing out on plugging the holes in your team. (ESPN)
• Blogosphere reacts to Andy Sutton deal: (The 6th Sens) (Hockey or Die) (Black Aces) (AOSB)
• Islanders fans react to the deal in this thread. Some feel that the Senators got a great deal, to the point that one fan called it repayment for the Isles making out so well in the Campoli deal. (Islanders Point Blank)
• Fanhouse crunches the numbers on the value of a second round pick. Their finding? "If you're a contender, and you think Andy Sutton or Matt Cullen is what you need to put your team over the top, it's a small price to pay for a chance at a deep postseason run." (Fanhouse)
• View From My Seats tries to get all Debbie Downer on us and look at the human aspect of trades. What, you mean people don't like having to find a new school for their kids? (VFMS)
• Oh, in case you're planning on buying an Andy Sutton jersey, he'll wear # 5. (Mendes)
• UPDATE: Filip Kuba doubtful for tomorrow's game against Hurricanes. (Citizen)