WELCOME! 

So as you well know, the Sensphere is all atwitter over the news of Jim O”Brien’s healthy scratch tonight against the Washington Capitals.

OKAY Erik Karlsson is back. I don’t even know what to do with myself. What can I say that hasnt aleady been said? All the emotions are happening. After my preview of the recent match against Carolina I predicted that in his return Jared Cowen would take a glorified twirl around the ice and make sure the old hip feels okay in a Borowieckian 12 minutes of ice time.  I think we can say after 20 minutes that included a thunderous hit, 2 fights and a number of beastly defensive plays that I should go back up into my tree house and shut up. THANKS FOR READING!

And now James would like to issue a statement:

“Ladies and gentlemen, I sincerely apologize for not wearing my Erik Karlsson jersey to the bar the night of his devastating injury suffered from noted piece of human garbage Matt Cooke. Since I decided to stop washing my Peace Tower logo Sens t shirt during the entire cup final run of 2007, I have been aware that my superstitious actions control the outcome of sporting events that I am interested in, namely those of the only sports team that matters, the Ottawa Senators. By not wearing my Karlsson uniform I not only endangered the outcome of the game but put his health at risk and feel incredibly lucky that he has found a way to recover quickly. I can assure you, my fellow fans, this will not happen again. #lalala” 

Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy exciting story line aside, the Pittsburgh game did not go very well and shit is starting to get extremely real up in here!
Not everyone was terrible in that game (gotta love Zibanejad these days) but have you seen the Sens trying to look so fancy this season? They did not look like Paul MacLean’s team that game. Forget this running after Matt Cooke stuff, you know what I dont want to see distracting the team? MARC METHOT ATTEMPTING A FUCKING DROP PASS. That happened. Obviously his partner was NOT expecting it. Even if Erik Karlsson solely gets power play time tonight it will be a welcome change simply because he loves to shoot. Ugh, guys, with the cycling already! To quote the Scotiabank Place crowd “SHOOOT!!!”  Just brutal with the extra man. Speaking of which…

Craig Anderson’s Been Terrible at the Point on the Power Play! 
Been hearing a lot of ragging on Anderson’s play since his glorious return. With so much on the line it’s hard not to get a bit rattled watching the Sens make things a little too “interesting” down the stretch but… Andy aint the problem. The Sens as a team have put up 2 goals in their past two losses. There is such a thing as momentum in hockey and putting up 1 goal a night tells your goalie “hey we expect you to have a shutout” Nah. You have to score more than one goal to win hockey games against most teams….especially the Washington Capitals!
Like the whole Cooke thing, the return of Karlsson has created a circus surrounding him that does distract from how important this game is. Punching a playoff ticket is something Ottawa should do, you know, sooner than later. All the good vibes in the world aren’t going to win this game…well what do I know maybe they will…but still win you guys. I cant takes this no mores. The Capitals are a team that is not going to be easy to defeat on the road but lets hope that having the past couple of days off has given Ottawa a chance to get it together after some disappointing performances. Tonight’s the night. Ottawa can do it! They’ve proved they can do it without Karlsson now let’s see them do with him back. Welcome back Special Little Guy!
Enjoy the game. As usual, I will be eating my feelings on twitter. Seriously hold me.