He’s missed the team’s last eight games, but Chris Neil is back tonight for the Senators. The always pugnacious and ever-irritating Neil returns to a Senators team that’s hanging on this season and needs of an injection of toughness.
Neil’s been out since Nov. 9 with an ankle injury suffered against the Rangers. He’s known as a guy that plays with an edge and is eager to put a fist in the face of anyone that isn’t named Colton Orr.
With Neil back in the lineup, how the Senators roll him out and who comes out of the lineup remains to be seen. It could be any one of Jesse Winchester, Zenon Konopka, or Bobby Butler taking a seat.
Either way, the Senators toughness level will jump a few notches tonight against Washington, a team that goes without an enforcer on the ice.