Special Teams will be CLUTCH if Senators are to Win

The Senators have been great so far this year but face a true test tonight vs. the New York Islanders. Special Teams should be the key to victory in tonight's matchup as the Senators have the 3rd best PP in the league and the Islanders have the 4th. Therefore, any penalties taken on either side tonight could be gamebreakers.

GM Schmucky said today that. "Stupid penalties will be met with harsh consequences tonight. There is no room for crap penalties and stupidity on this team. This is a good test to see if we are really worthy of top spot in our division. If it's a tight game, win or lose we will know that we are a playoff team. If we get blown out, it's back to the drawing board."

It is certain that Roman Turek will get the start tonight as he has been solid so far this year posting a decent line: Roman Turek 13 766 3.21 8 4 0 1 41 342 .880. With all tenders healthy in New York, one can only assume that Aebischer will get the start tonight and he has remarkable numbers thus far this year: 11 678 2.21 6 2 3 0 25 285 .912 0 0.

Either way, the story will be who can break these goalies down. Will it be leading scorer Brendan Morrison with 18 points this year, 8 of them goals? Will it be Petr Nedved with 16 point this season? Or will it be the young Michael Ryder who had a terrible start to the season but is firing on all cylinders of late? We will see tonight if the underdog Senators can sneak a point or two away from the elite Islander squad!