Coming off their first loss of the season at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens, the Senators will attempt to get back into the win column when they head to Columbus to face the winless Blue Jackets.
Curtis Lazar missed practice yesterday after blocking a shot against the Habs, and will be a late-day decision as to whether he plays or not. If he can't go, Shane Prince will make his season debut in his place.
The practice lines yesterday didn't change much from Sunday's game, with the only alterations being Alex Chiasson moving to Lazar's spot and Prince skating with Zack Smith and Chris Neil.
Andrew Hammond was added to the active roster and Matt O'Connor was sent to Binghamton yesterday following the skate. Hammond will likely get one of the two starts during this back to back set, either tonight in Columbus or tomorrow night in Pittsburgh.
The Blue Jackets are limping in following a 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night, which followed up season opening back to back losses to the Rangers. They have given up 13 goals in 3 games so far.
Part of the Blue Jackets problem has been their penalty kill, which has allowed 4 goals on 11 opponent opportunities. The Blue Jackets are led by Ryan Johansen, Nick Foligno and Brandon Saad, who are their only multi-point scorers. On the blue line a player to watch is Ryan Murray, the former 2nd overall pick who has had his early career derailed by injuries and could finally be healthy after being limited to just 12 games last season.
Sergei Bobrovsky has taken the loss in all 3 games so far, and his .850 SP is among the lowest in the league, as is his 4.65 GAA.
So, it would be a huge understatement to say that it has not been a great start for the Blue Jackets, a team that more is expected from this season after they failed to make the post-season last year.
The Senators themselves have to find a way to be more consistent in-game, and they need Erik Karlsson to find his form and lead this team from the back end. Yes, the captain does have 3 points in 3 games, but they all came in 1 game, and 2 of them were on the power play. Senators fans have yet to see him impose his will on a game (especially at even strength) as they have seen so often in the past. As he goes, so will the Senators.
They key for this season for Ottawa will be to bounce back after losses and not let it become a streak of negativity like it became last season. This is the first opportunity to see what type of team this will be when faced with a bit of adversity and it is a game that is certainly there for the taking.
Puck drop is shortly after 7:00, hopefully right on the heels of celebrating a Blue Jays victory.
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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