About the Senators - 12-23-09

A preview of the Senators.

When and where: 7 p.m., Mellon Arena.

TV: FSN Pittsburgh; Sportsnet-East.

Record: 18-14-4, 40 points. The Senators are in seventh place in the Eastern Conference and third place in the Northeast Division.

Leading Scorer: Daniel Alfredsson (right), 31 points (nine goals, 22 assists).

Last Game: 2-0 home loss to the Bruins, Monday. Brian Elliott made 27 saves for the Senators.

Last Game against the Penguins: 6-2 home win, Nov. 19. Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin each had goals.

Senators Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Mike Fisher. He had three assists in the game on Nov. 19.

Ex-Penguins on the Senators: Matt Carkner, D (Carkner is a former Wilkes-barre/Scranton Penguin); Shean Donovan, LW; Alex Kovalev, RW; Jarkko Ruutu, LW.

Ex-Senators on the Penguins: Phil Bourque, broadcaster; Ray Shero, general manager (he was an assistant general manager with Ottawa).

Useless Senators Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Former Penguins forward Phil Bourque, then a member of the Rangers, scored the first overtime goal against the current Senators franchise. He netted the game-winner in a 3-2 home win, Oct. 24, 1992.

Best Senators YouTube Video We Could Find: Senators forward Jason Spezza getting caught with an illegal stick and trying to destroy the evidence last season:

Notes:

-Marc-Andre Fleury (21-9-1, 2.40 GAA, .908 SV%) and Pascal Leclaire (8-5-1, 2.71 GAA, .901 SV%) are your expected starters in net.

-For the Penguins, defenseman Mark Eaton (undisclosed) is out.

-For the Senators, goaltender Pascal Leclaire (face) and forward Chris Neil (knee) are probable. Forwards Shean Donovan (knee), Nick Foligno ("lower body") and Jason Spezza (knee) are on injured reserve.

-Hopefully, you don't have Evgeni Malkin on your fantasy team at the moment.

-Jordan Staal's dreams of being a nose model are probably over.

-30th.

-Senators coach Cory Clouston has been complaining about the officials.

-The Senators have seen a significant drop in attendance this season and have dropped ticket prices.

-The Penguins will get to avoid playing another M. Brodeur in net. With Leclaire and Neil healthy, the Senators demoted goaltender Mike Brodeur and forward Josh Hennessy to Binghamton of the AHL.

-Our live blog begins at approximately 6 p.m. Please tune in.