Caps vs. Senators 1-1-2008 Preview

Washington Capitals (15-24; 35 points; 4th Southeast Division, 14th Eastern Conference, 28th Overall) vs. Ottawa Senators (25-13; 54 points; 1st Northeast Division, 1st Eastern Conference, 2nd Overall):
Caps Game #40, Home Game #19, NHL Game #585

Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. 4:07 pm. Washington TV: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WWWT 1500-AM, 107.7-FM. Ottawa TV: A Channel. Radio: TEAM 1200-AM. Canadian National TV: RDS (French). NHL Center Ice: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic feed.

Today the Caps kick off the New Year with a matinee return bout matchup against the Ottawa Senators. The Caps will look to continue their recent success against the Senators after winning the two games in Ottawa. Last year, the Caps swept Ottawa at home but then dropped both games on the road. While the Caps are 12-7-3 on New Year's Day but haven't won since beating the New York Islanders 3-2 in 2002 and have only three wins on New Year's Day in the last ten years.

What the Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

Senators.com

What Do I Expect Today?:

The date was Sunday, March 11th, 2001; the Caps were trailing the Ottawa Senators 5-2 entering the third period at the Phone Booth. Then Head Coach Ron Wilson replaced Olie Kolzig in goal with Corey Hirsch during the second intermission. The Caps scored 4 goals in the third period and won 6-5 in regulation. The next time the Caps and the Senators met, it was November 1st, 2001; Ottawa scored 11 goals at the Phone Booth in their 11-5 win that wasn't that close. After that big comeback in March of 2001, the Caps would lose the next two games to Ottawa by a combined score of 15-6 and have won just 7 of the 22 games played between the Caps and Sens since then; including the two games the Caps have already won this season. Throw in the fact that Ottawa has the second best road record in the NHL and this my friends is going to be very ugly, especially if you're HUNGOVER!

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 1
Senators 6
Winner by Heatley

(25-14 on the season)