It will be a busy new year's eve for hockey fans in Ottawa today, and the Ottawa Senators take on the Columbus Blue Jackets just a short while after Canada and Sweden take each other on in the 2011 World Junior Championships. Let's just hope there's not a drop in excitement between the two...
Some players I'll be watching tonight:
- Jim O`Brien: The 2007 first-rounder has been having an awesome season so far, and he's going to make his NHL debut tonight. He sounded excited in a pre-game interview, and I'm excited to see what he can do on the ice.
- Brian Lee: He's taking the place of Filip Kuba tonight, which is kind of a huge deal. But if he plays a solid game, he'll likely see a few more of them.
- Brian Elliott: Really needs to bounce back from a weak last game. Cory Clouston seems reticent to give Mike Brodeur a start, but a bad outing by Elliott might just force his hand.
- Erik Karlsson: By far, the hottest Senator right now, and--as sad as it sounds, considering he's a 20-year-old defenceman--our offence seems to depend on him.
- Sergei Gonchar: Also needs a bounce-back game if he doesn't want to swap places with Kuba in the near future.
Join us here before heading out to get plastered to talk about the Sens-Jackets game, and whatever else is going on.