Bloody Hockey Day in Canada

The day began with a treat for every hockey fan, Hockey Day in Canada, with the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators facing off at 2 PM EST.  The game however ended in disappointment and anxiety for Montreal fans and more of the same for Ottawa Senators fans.

The Canadiens took a hard-luck loss, allowing Mike Fisher to steamroll through their offensive zone and tuck the puck underneath the pad of Jaroslav Halak in overtime. The bigger loss perhaps came at the end of the third period when Anton Volchenkov leveled Mike Cammalleri, sending him to the locker room.  Cammalleri, the Habs leading goal scorer, would not return.

Early reports claim Cammalleri will undergo an MRI leaving no word on his status until Monday.  Signs point to an extended absence despite durability throughout his career.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Senators won their ninth straight game which broke their previous team record.  The win however would not come without sacrifice as Nick Foligno broke his leg blocking a shot from Marc-Andre Bergeron.

Foligno will miss six to eight weeks adding to an impressive amount of man-games lost this season in Ottawa.   Rookie Jesse Winchester expects to return to the lineup soon which in theory will replace their fallen left wing.

The Senators already missed Pascal Leclaire, Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Filip Kuba amongst others and continue to stay in the Eastern Conference playoff mix.  They most likely will survive.