The Ottawa Senators return from their four day respite and hit the Sunshine State for a tour starting tonight against the Panthers followed by the Lightning before visiting the not-so sunny Buffalo on this three game road trip.

The Senators are riding a wave of positivity as they emerge from the All-Star break, not just because they have points in their last 6 games, are 6-1-2 in their last nine and sit firmly in second place in the Atlantic Division with games in hand on almost everyone around them. They also have to be buoyed by the return of Craig Anderson to the team yesterday. Even if he is a couple of weeks away from game action, his presence will be a lift for the club. For what it is worth, Andrew Hammond was activated from IR before the break and will at least provide an experienced backup, but it will be Mike Condon who shoulders the load until Anderson is game ready and a decision then has to be made about the split of playing time.

Condon will tie a franchise record for consecutive appearances tonight, playing in his 25th straight game for the Senators in Anderson's absence.

This is a big divisional game for both teams as the stretch run to the playoffs essentially begins. The Panthers are trying to maintain contact with the teams currently sitting in a playoff spot, currently four points out. The Senators will be looking to put some more distance between themselves and the Panthers, as they currently sit six points up on them with three games in hand. Certainly a positive place to be in, but there is a big difference between 4 point and 8 point leads, which is what the swing could be tonight with a regulation win by either side.

With a little bit of help, the Senators could also move 5 points up on the team that currently occupies the 9th spot, Toronto, who are in Dallas.

Other than Hammond being inserted as Condon's backup, I wouldn't anticipate any other lineup changes, meaning Freddie Claesson has played well and should stay in on the third pair with Chris Wideman even if Mark Borowiecki is finally healthy after missing four games with the flu. The only other change might see Chris Neil inserted back into the lineup in favor of Curtis Lazar, who I thought might have been the scratch for newcomer Tommy Wingels on Thursday but it was the vet who took a seat. Wingels scored in his Senators debut and has more goals in one game than Lazar does in 27 so far this season.

The Senators turned some heads with wins over quality opponents in January, as well as gaining a couple of points in contests where they didn't have their complete game together. With Florida struggling, the Senators have the opportunity to put their feet on the Panther's jugular and pretty much put themselves in a position where the Panthers won't be able to track them down. The Senators have a history of letdowns when they are playing teams they should probably beat, and tonight is one of those games. It will be telling if they come out of the break focused and ready to compete, because they aren't good enough to just think they can show up and beat any team in this league just because might be ahead of them in the standings. Some nights it can seem like that is what they think, and for the Senators to be successful on a night to night basis, Guy Boucher has to make sure that mindset doesn't creep back in and that full attention is on every game.

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