by Capital Gains

Mika Zibanejad missed the game against Pittsburgh with a case of the flu. He should be back in the lineup tonight after local Boston doctor Mark Recchi gave him the go-ahead to play. It's not a very good hospital. You should see the nurses. With Zibanejad drawing back into the lineup, Matt Kassian will likely continue his food tour of the Atlantic Division press boxes. Here he is sampling a Boston specialty, clam chowder: "Nice texture, good balance, just the right level of acidity - two fists up!" Cory Conacher and Jean-Gabriel Pageau are both still in a jolly mood from the holiday break. Here they are waking up from their pre-game nap: Hey, it's still an upgrade on the hotels the B-Sens stay at. Fresh off a shutout, Craig Anderson is expected to start tonight. Word is he got some new gear for Christmas that should help him get his game back to last year's levels: "You shouldn't have! Hey, are there any more of those buttertarts left?" As the second half of the season starts, the Senators are going to need to keep getting strong performances from top-six players like Kyle Turris. We can only hope that after his performance in the Senators' Christmas video, he's able to keep his mind on hockey: "No, I'm not doing a dealership commercial. Tell them I don't get out of bed until I get the KD job." Finally, there's stiff competition between Erik Condra and Chris Neil as both requested two front teeth from Santa this year. Word is the first one to score tonight gets a new bridge. The odds are in favour of Santa Claus keeping the two teeth, but you never know . . . "No, Chris, sweetie, look at the camera, not Mommy." Enjoy the game tonight!

It's game day! The Christmas break is over for the Senators and they're back in action tonight to take on the Boston Bruins. Can they keep their momentum after a 5-0 victory over the Penguins on Monday? Here are your story lines for tonight's game: