| 04 February 2010
Canada's two best chances at winning the Stanley Cup this season square off at Scotiabank Place tonight as the red-hot Ottawa Senators host the "homeless" Vancouver Canucks as both teams look for bragging rights as Canada's best team.
Who says the Ottawa Senators need Dany Heatley to make the playoffs? The offseason mayhem surrounding the disgruntled right winger took over many headlines which finally led to Heatley's departure in Ottawa and saw the superstar forward land with the San Jose Sharks. Ottawa received Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo in return, but many arguments justified or not still suggest the Sharks were the winners in this deal. Looking at it quantitatively the Sharks did get the better end of the deal as Healtey is playing really well, and the Sharks have the best record in the Western Conference and trail only the Capitals in the President's Trophy race. However the Sens are playing incredible hockey at the moment having reeled off 10 straight victories, and currently sit in 5th place int he Eastern Conference with 68 points.
Ottawa looks to continue their winning streak tonight as they host the Northwest Division leading Canucks who are playing their third of 14 straight road games as GM Place has been vacated as organizers begin setting up for the Olympics next week. Vancouver has started their road stretch with a 1-1 record dropping their last game against the Canadiens after defeating the Maple Leafs a couple days before. Montreal's key to success against the Canucks was holding the Sedin's in check as they combined for just one assist in the 3-2 loss. Having back to back to games where the Sedin's are shut down isn't something that happens very often and I expect them to bounce back tonight.
The Sens are coming off a hard fought 4-2 win over division rival Buffalo and division games on the road always take a lot out of a team even if they came away with the win. I expect the Sens to play tight defensively tonight in an attempt to shut down the Sedin's and Burrows, but I don't think they have the company to shut the entire team down. I look for the Canucks to match playing styles with the Sens tonight and I give the advantage to the Canucks as Roberto Luongo is coming off two uncharacteristic starts and should get back to form tonight.
Kyle's Pick: Vancouver Canucks
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