Game Day: Cats at Sens, 7:30p FSN, ScotiaBank Place

The Panthers (11-12-3, 25P), fresh off a 4-0 thrashing at home on Saturday, make their way to Ottawa to take on a rather surprisingly underwhelming but recently hot Senators club (10-10-4, 24P).

This is the third meeting of the season between the teams, with each winning one apiece. The all-time record stands at 32-23-3 in favor of the Sen.

Ottawa is currently tied with Tampa Bay as the lowest scoring club in the league with 60 goals-for. Florida has 63.

On the injury side, the Panthers remain in deep trouble, as Cory Stillman, David Booth, Richard Zednik, Rusty Olesz, and Nathan Horton all still reside in the press box. Forwards Kenndal McArdle and Janis Sprukts were demoted on Sunday while Michal Repik (his first NHL start) and Tanner Glass, both from Rochester, will appear with the Cats tonight.

The Senators are evidently healthy; Dean McAmmond may miss the start with a sore throat.

Andy (6-2-3) gets back in net for Florida, while former Panther Alex Auld (9-6-3) goes for Ottawa.

There's usually much more action behind the scenes than on the ice when these clubs match up. I's been no secret that the Senators covet Jay Bouwmeester, and likewise Cats GM Jacques Martin is a fan of Antoine Vermette. The behind-the-scenes "anitpathy" seems to extend back to Martin's days as Ottawa's head coach, and some potential bad-blood between the organizations due to that. Martin has also been accused in the media for not dealing fairly with the Senators in his approach to potential trades (Gary Roberts going to Pittsburgh being one example).

LITTER BOX LINERS

• Sun-Sentinel: Anderson in net.
• Miami Herald: Injury coverage.
• Ottawa Sun: Nothing as of 10:45am.
• Ottawa Citizen: Game day preview (blog-good stuff, too)
• National Post: Hard work not over for Sens
• AP via NHL.com: Game day preview
• AccuScore Prediction: Senators, 2.4 to 2.2

FROM THE BLOGOSPHERE

• Cat Scratch (FLA)
• Panthers on the Prowl (FLA)
• Five for Smiting (OTW)
• Sens Army (OTW)
• Scarlett Ice (OTW)
• Universal Cynic (OTW)

THE WARMUP

 Ottawa's Chris Neil welcomes Tanner Glass to the NHL, 1/22/08. Both should be in the lineups tonight.