Flames at Senators
THE STORY: Jason Spezza does his best to lead by example. The Ottawa Senators center was the star of the team's annual skills competition by accurately hitting all four of his attempts as well as winning the hardest shot title with a blast of 103.8 mph. "You always want to try and put (your) best foot forward. ... you really just don't want to embarrass yourself," Spezza told the Ottawa Citizen. While Spezza led Team Alfredsson to victory Wednesday, he'd rather guide the Senators to a triumph in Friday's home tilt versus the Calgary Flames. Although Spezza scored in his last game, Ottawa mustered little else en route to suffering its second straight setback with a 6-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. For its part, Calgary saw its season-high four-game winning streak come to an end with a 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday. Coach Brent Sutter's club will look to rebound Friday when it make its fourth stop of a seven-contest road trip. The Flames are on their pronounced jaunt with the World Junior Hockey Championship invading The Stampede City.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, RS West (Calgary), RS Northeast (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE FLAMES (18-16-4): Right wing Tim Jackman scored 71 seconds into Thursday's contest, but that was all the Flames could muster against Evgeni Nabokov and the Islanders. Center Olli Jokinen saw his seven-game point streak come to an end, but the 33-year-old Finn has collected 29 career points versus the Senators. Fellow Finn Miikka Kiprusoff, who stopped 31 shots on Thursday, has also fared well versus Ottawa. The 35-year-old netminder has posted a 7-2-0 career mark with a 2.29 goals against average versus the Senators.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (17-15-5): After missing five games with a concussion, left wing Milan Michalek had an assist Tuesday. Goaltender Craig Anderson was brutalized for four goals on seven shots before earning an early exit. He will look to redeem himself versus the Flames, against whom he has split 10 career decisions (5-5-0). In his last outing against Calgary, Anderson turned aside 38 of 39 shots in a victory.
OVERTIME:
1. Senators defenseman Chris Phillips (undisclosed injury) returned to practice Thursday and skated without issue. "I was pleased to get through practice today and I'll see how it feels, how it responds in the morning, and go from there," Phillips told the Ottawa Citizen. He is questionable for Friday's contest.
2. Flames captain Jarome Iginla sits two goals shy of 500 in his career.
3. Calgary, which denied New York on its lone power-play opportunity, has killed off 12 consecutive shorthanded situations.