Sportsnet is reporting that Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson will miss tomorrow night’s game in Carolina with a hip flexor injury. It’s a tough loss for the Sens -- the 38-year-old veteran has 3G-2A-5PTS in eight games this year and served as the elder statesman/mentor on a line with Nick Foligno (23 years old) and Mika Zibanejad (18) for most of this season.
In a corresponding move, Ottawa called up name-of-the-year candidate Kaspars Daugavins from Binghamton of the American Hockey League.
Other game notes:
-- Tomorrow marks the start of Carolina’s first homestand of the season. If the New York Rangers staked claim to the worst schedule to open the season (a seven-game road trip), Carolina could claim second-worst -- the ‘Canes have played in Carolina, Washington, New Jersey, Carolina, Buffalo, Boston, St. Louis and Winnipeg to start the year.
-- The Mika Zibanejad Games Played Watch (which I’m sure is breaking all sorts of Nielsen records) continues tomorrow as he’ll play his ninth game of the season. Game No. 9, of course, being the benchmark where Ottawa must decide to keep him in the NHL or return him to the Swedish Elite League. If he stays, he uses up a year of his entry-level deal. If he goes back, he returns next year in the first season of his contract.
-- Of the 10 worst plus-minus players in the NHL, the Sens-Canes game features four: Eric Staal (-10, the worst in the NHL) Stephane Da Costa (-8), Erik Karlsson (-6) and Justin Faulk (-6).