The Ottawa Senators will give Ben Bishop the start, as they look to stay perfect on the season, when they take on the Lightning at the Tampa Bay Times forum on Friday tonight.
Bishop, a native of Denver, Colorado, will be making his first start of the 2013 season. The 26-year-old started 10 games for the Senators in the 2011-2012 season while posting a GAA of 2.48 and a save percentage of .909.
Ben Bishop took most of the reps in the starter’s end during practice and was the first goalie to the leave the ice. Looks like he starts. — Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) January 25, 2013
Ben Bishop took most of the reps in the starter’s end during practice and was the first goalie to the leave the ice. Looks like he starts.
— Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) January 25, 2013
The Senators (3-0-0) are playing well to start the shortened season, and are coming off a home-and-home sweep of Florida with Thursday’s 3-1 road win. Defenseman Erik Karlsson scored the go-ahead goal 8:28 into the second period after intercepting a cross-ice pass in the neutral zone and firing one past Jose Theodore.
“I haven’t seen too many people get from the blue line at a dead stop to the hash marks and shoot the puck in the net like that in a real long time,” coach Paul MacLean said. “I thought, that’s what makes you a Norris Trophy winner – the ability to sometimes make something out of nothing.”
Besides Karlsson’s impressive efforts, Craig Anderson came up big again with 25 saves. The veteran goaltender, who’s started all three games thus far, has compiled a 0.79 goals-against average and two shutouts in winning his last five starts against Tampa Bay.
Borowiecki will likely be paired with Andre Benoit tonight. Other d-pairs will stay the same. — Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) January 25, 2013
Borowiecki will likely be paired with Andre Benoit tonight. Other d-pairs will stay the same.
Off to its best start since opening 5-0-0 in 2007-08, Ottawa’s success shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to the Lightning, who were outscored 19-6 in losing all four meetings in last season’s series. The Senators are 33-8-3 with one tie against the Lightning since April 2000.
The 23-year-old center looks to continue his impressive play Friday night as the Lightning open a season-high five-game homestand against the undefeated Ottawa Senators.
After opening 1-3-2 last season, Tampa Bay (2-1-0) is off to a solid start thanks to a combined 14 points from Lecavalier, Stamkos and St. Louis. That production shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but Conacher’s team best-tying five points have given the Lightning an even bigger lift.
Conacher scored his second goal of the season Tuesday in a 4-1 win at Carolina.
“He’s young and a he’s a smart kid, and honestly, what I like is that he’s committed defensively,” coach Guy Boucher told the team’s official website. “He’s got the offense, but I like his backcheck and he blocks shots and that’s why he gets ice time. If he didn’t do those things, he wouldn’t be getting ice time.”
Boucher also had high praise for Lecavalier, who after posting a goal and an assist in Saturday’s season-opening 6-3 win over Washington, set up a pair of scores against the Hurricanes.
“He’s doing it all right now, and I’ve been here for three years now, and this is the best I’ve ever seen him,” Boucher said of the veteran center, who will be honored Friday for playing in his 1,000th game four days earlier against the New York Islanders. “He’s leading as a captain and he’s doing it with the winning things, not the flashy things.”
Although Mathieu Garon made 35 saves in his season debut Tuesday, Boucher is expected to go back to No. 1 netminder Anders Lindback. The Sweden native is 1-1-0 with a shaky 3.51 GAA.
“Garon played great, but right now we’ve got a young goaltender in Lindback who we want to build up,” Boucher said. “He’s a young guy and he’s played well, so we need to get him some minutes. The situation is we want to give (Lindback) an opportunity to grow, and Mathieu is a professional and understands that.”
#NHL Line Combo Central: Full line combinations, defensive pairs and PP times from EVERY game, EVERY team, EVERY night. sportsnet.ca/fantasy/hockey… — Chris Nichols (@Nichols_NHLPool) January 24, 2013
#NHL Line Combo Central: Full line combinations, defensive pairs and PP times from EVERY game, EVERY team, EVERY night. sportsnet.ca/fantasy/hockey…
— Chris Nichols (@Nichols_NHLPool) January 24, 2013
Lindback will need to be wary of Jason Spezza, who’s recorded 18 goals and 41 points in 30 career games in this series. He scored an empty-netter Thursday.