• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Senators seeking revenge in Stockholm against Penguins

Oct 4, 2008 - 10:00 AM Pittsburgh at Ottawa, 2:30 pm EDT

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (Ticker) -- The Ottawa Senators will look for a measure of revenge Saturday, when they square off against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first of a two-game series at the Globe Arena as part of NHL Premiere 2008.

The Senators were swept in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals last season by the Penguins. Led by captain Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh outscored Ottawa by a 16-5 margin in the series.

The Penguins carried that momentum all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they were soundly beaten by a more-experienced Detroit Red Wings squad.

Pittsburgh managed to keep its talented young core together as Crosby, Malkin, Jordan Staal and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury likely will be staples of the team for years to come. But the Penguins did undergo significant changes this offseason.

Marian Hossa, who recorded 15 goals and 21 assists after being acquired from Atlanta at the trade deadline, signed with the Red Wings this summer. Without Hossa, Crosby will be joined by former New York Islanders Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko on the top line.

Pittsburgh also lost agitator Jarkko Ruutu, who will be on the other side of the rink this weekend after signing a three-year deal with the Senators this offseason. But the Penguins biggest losses came via injury on the blue line.

Ryan Whitney underwent foot surgery and likely will be out until January, while fellow defenseman Sergei Gonchar is expected to miss four to six months after dislocating his shoulder in the preseason.

Ottawa also made big changes this offseason, hiring coach Craig Hartsburg and shuffling personnel on the defense corps. Hartsburg, who previously has been behind the bench of the Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks, has not coached in the NHL since 2001.

On the blue line, the Senators parted ways with Wade Redden and Andrej Meszaros but added Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard and veteran Jason Smith.

The most significant change might be on the top line as Hartsburg will split up the highly productive trio of Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson in order to create more offensive depth.

Alfredsson, the captain, will move to the second line in hopes of generating a more balanced attack.