The Buffalo Sabres spoiled the party in Game 4, denying the Ottawa Senators their first ever sweep, and berth in the Stanley Cup Final, all on Ottawa’s home ice. So the Sens will look to return the favour this afternoon, by eliminating the Sabres in front of their home fans, and advancing to the championship series for the first time in modern franchise history.

The Senators will roll with the same lineup tonight, though Bryan Murray may juggle his lines depending on how this one goes.

Game Notes:

• Game 4 marked the first time these playoffs that the Pizza Line of Heatley, Spezza, and Alfredsson were all held without a point. Suffice to say, the Senators need those three to get on the board if they’re going to have any sort of success.
• Game 4 was also just the second time this series that Ray Emery has given up more than two goals in a contest, and the sixth all playoffs. The Sens’ only losses have come in three of those games, so if Emery can weather the storm once again, their chances improve immensely.
• Expect to see a heavy dose of the top six, in this game. The big line is the big line, but Peter Schaefer, Mike Fisher, and Mike Comrie have also begun to come alive in this series. Fisher especially, having two goals, and played well defensively.
• Wade Redden and Andrej Meszaros will need to be solid, as Lindy Ruff will likely try to use the last change to get his big guns away from Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov./

ECF - Who’s Hot:

Ottawa: Jason Spezza 1G 5A, Daniel Alfredsson 3G 1A, Dany Heatley 4A

Buffalo: Maxim Afinogenov 1G 2A, Chris Drury 1G 2A, Jason Pominville 3A

ECF - Who’s Not:

Ottawa: Peter Schaefer 1G 0A, Mike Comrie 0G 1A,  Antoine Vermette 0G 0A

Buffalo: Brian Campbell 0G 0A, Dainius Zubrus 0G 0A, Ales Kotalik 0G 0A

Make sure to tune into the YouTube link at 7:30pmET to watch with us! Note the audio sync is a little off, but hey, that’s showbiz baby!