Game 33 Preview: Ottawa Senators @ Tampa Bay Lightning

Dion Phaneuf is unavailable due to personal reasons, so Ben Harpur draws in with Andreas Englund called up to be the spare D. Zack Smith is a game time decision, with Filip Chlapik on standby. Chlapik wouldn’t just slide in to Smith’s spot, he’d be the 4C with Thompson or Burrows moving up to 3LW. Here are the potential lines and pairings if Smith is good to go:

Some thoughts:

• Tampa is at the top of the league for a reason - this one has the potential to get ugly, fast.
• This is their first game back in Tampa after a 4 game road trip and against the 29th place team so the potential for this to be a “trap game” for them is there.
• The power play looked pretty good against Minnesota, with two PP goals and a third coming shortly after one ended.
• This is Anderson’s fourth start in a row. The last one was a stinker, but he did do well in the previous two.
• If Chlapik plays, it will be on the fourth line. I’d bet a line of Paul-Chlapik-Thompson/Burrows doesn’t get much ice time.
• At this point, the Sens probably need to get two out of every three points still on the board to make the playoffs, give or take a point or two on the final total. Only Nashville, Vegas and Tampa have that point% so far this season.
• For the sake of comparison, the Hamburglar run brought in five out of every six possible points so we’re not quite at that level of miracle run just yet
• On the flip side, we’re almost at the World Juniors - prime draft class watching time. Time to get a good look at Rasmus Dahlin?

Stats for tonight’s game (thanks to NHL.com and NaturalStatTrick.com):