Game #45 Washington Capitals vs. Ottawa Senators

Where: Verizon Center, Washington, DC

When: January 15, 2008, 7:00 PM

History:
Caps Record on this Date: 4-9-0-1
Caps Game 45 Record: 13-13-5-1
All-Time vs. OTT: 27-26-5-0
Last Season vs. OTT: 2-2-0
Last Meeting: 1/1/08, WAS 6 OTT 3

This Year:
WAS Record: 18-21-5
Standings Points: 41
Division Rank: 4^th
Conference Rank: 13^th
Last Game: 1/13/2008, WAS 4 PHI 6
Streak: Loss 1

OTT Record: 29-11-4
Standings Points: 62
Division Rank: 1^st
Conference Rank: 1^st
Last Game: 1/13/2008, OTT 1 NYI 3
Streak: Loss 1

Game 1, 11/8/07: WAS 4 OTT 1
Game 2, 12/29/07, WAS 8 OTT 6
Game 3, 1/1/08, WAS 6 OTT 3

Probable Line-Ups:
Washington
Forward Line 1: 8 OVECHKIN, 19 BACKSTROM, 25 KOZLOV
Forward Line 2: 28 SEMIN, 92 NYLANDER, 43 FLEISCHMANN
Forward Line 3: 53 LAING, 39 STECKEL, 15 GORDON
Forward Line 4: 87 BRASHEAR, 21 LAICH, 10 BRADLEY
Defense Pair 1: 26 MORRISONN, 52 GREEN
Defense Pair 2: 23 JURCINA, 55 SCHULTZ
Defense Pair 3: 4 ERSKINE, 3 POTI
Goalie: 37 KOLZIG
Back-up Goalie: 1 JOHNSON

Ottawa
Forward Line 1: 15 HEATLEY, 12 FISHER, 11 ALFRESSON
Forward Line 2: 20 VERMETTE, 19 SPEZZA, 25 NEIL
Forward Line 3: 37 MCAMMOND, 22 KELLY, 10 DONOVAN
Forward Line 4: BASS, 27 ROBITAILLE, 16 MCGRATTAN
Defense Pair 1: 4 PHILLIPS, 24 VOLCHENKOV
Defense Pair 2: 6 REDDEN, 7 CORVO
Defense Pair 3: 5 SCHUBERT, 14 MESZAROS
Goalie: 29 GERBER
Back-up Goalie: 1 EMERY

Injuries:
Washington – 14 FEHR (hip) IR, 17 CLARK (groin) DTD, 2 POTHIER (head) DTD
Ottawa – 44 EAVES (shoulder) IR, 15 HEATLEY (shoulder) DTD, 19 SPEZZA (undisclosed) DTD

Caps Milestones:
Matt Pettinger needs 3 Points to reach 100 for his career
Alexander Semin needs 5 Shots on Goal to reach 400 for his career
Michal Nylander needs 5 Points to reach 100 as a Capital
Donald Brashear needs 2 Points to reach 200 for his career
Donald Brashear needs 9 PIM’s to reach 2,400 for his career
Chris Clark needs 1 SOG to reach 800 for his career
Brooks Laich needs 2 SOG to reach 300 for his career

Preview:
The Capitals will face the Ottawa Senators for the last in the regular season tomorrow. The Caps have beaten the 1^st place Sens each of the three times they have played. For the Caps to continue to advance up the Eastern Conference Standings they will need another good outing against the Senators. Look for the team to push the puck up and use the forecheck. Mistakes in their own zone have been hurting the Caps lately. They need to simplify their zone exit and not try to be too pretty with their passing. For some reason the Caps have the Sens number this season, I don’t see anything to change that trend. It will be another high scoring game with the Caps coming out on top.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 6 OTT 4