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Sunday, 26 December 2010 10:00

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

A preview of the Senators.

When and where: 7:30 p.m., ScotiaBank Place.

TV: FSN Pittsburgh, SportsNet East.

Record: 15-17-4, 34 points. The Senators are 10th place in the Eastern Conference and third place in the Northeast Division.

Leading Scorer: Daniel Alfredsson (right), 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists).

Last Game: 2-1 road win against the Predators, Thursday. Brian Elliott made 25 saves in the victory.

Last Game against the Penguins: 2-1 road loss, Nov. 26. Tyler Kennedy had two assists for the Penguins.

Senators Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Chris Phillips. Last season, while playing in his 800th career game, he scored two goals in a 6-2 rout of the Penguins, No. 19, 2009. Tonight, he is scheduled to appear in his 900th career game.

Ex-Penguins on the Senators: Matt Carkner, D (Carkner was a member of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, but never played with the NHL Penguins); Sergei Gonchar, D; Alex Kovalev, RW; Brad Lauer, assistant general manager; Jarkko Ruutu, LW.

Ex-Senators on the Penguins: Phil Bourque, broadcaster; Mike Comrie, C; Randy Sexton, assistant director of amateur scouting; Ray Shero, general manager.

Useless Senators Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Former Penguins forward Marian Hossa holds the Senators' franchise record for goals in a season by a right winger with 45 in 2002-03.

Best Senators Video We Could Find: Brian Elliott. Juggler:

Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (16-7-1, 2.28 GAA, .918 SV%) for the Penguins and Brian Elliott (11-10-3, 2.98 GAA, .904 SV%) for the Senators.

Injuries: For the Penguins, forward Arron Asham ("lower body") is questionable. Goaltender Brent Johnson (groin) is doubtful. Forwards Mike Comrie (hip), Jordan Staal (hand) and defenseman Alex Grant (wrist) are on injured reserve. For the Senators, goaltender Pascal Leclaire ("lower-body") is day to day.

Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins primary lines and defensive pairings in Thursday's game against the Capitals were:

Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Pascal Dupuis
Matt Cooke - Maxime Talbot - Evgeni Malkin
Chris Conner - Mark Letestu - Tyler Kennedy
Mike Rupp - Craig Adams - Eric Godard

Brooks Orpik - Kris Letang
Paul Martin - Zbynek Michalek
Alex Goligoski - Deryk Engelland

The Senators' primary lines and defensive pairings in Thursday's game against the Predators were:

Milan Michalek - Jason Spezza - Ryan Shannon
Nick Foligno - Mike Fisher - Daniel Alfredsson
Jarkko Ruutu - Chris Kelly - Chris Neil
Peter Regin - Jesse Winchester - Alex Kovalev

Chris Phillips - Erik Karlsson
Sergei Gonchar - Filip Kuba
Brian Lee - Chris Campoli

Notes:

-Conner has appeared in 99 career games.

-Talbot has 49 career goals, 49 career assists and 98 career points.

-Martin has 149 career assists.

-Phillips has appeared in 899 career games.

-Our live blog begins at approximately 7:30 p.m. Please tune in.

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