Guillaume Latendresse played in Games 1 and 2 of the Senators' first-round series against Montreal. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
The Senators have had two days of practice and plenty of video sessions to correct where they went wrong in the series opener.
First and foremost, they have to be much better on special teams. The Penguins scored twice with their No. 1-ranked power play and added a shorthanded goal on Tuesday. The Senators also want to establish a better forecheck. It was too easy for the Penguins defence to move the puck out of their own end and up to their talented forwards in Game 1.
Meanwhile, Jason Spezza, who continues to make strides in his recovery from back surgery, will not play in Game 2. But Senators coach Paul MacLean, who was confirmed as a Jack Adams finalist on Friday, did say that if Spezza is available for Game 3 in Ottawa on Sunday he will be in the lineup.
2. Will the Senators make any lineup changes for Game 2?
MacLean confirmed injured defenceman Eric Gryba (upper body) will not play on Friday. He was knocked out of the series opener in the second period on a hard hit from Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik.
Andre Benoit will replace Gryba, while left wing Guillaume Latendresse will be in for Matt Kassian on the fourth line.
The 25-year-old Latendresse played in Games 1 and 2 of the Senators' first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens and scored his first career Stanley Cup playoff goal in the opener on May 2. The 29-year-old Benoit made his Stanley Cup playoff debut in Game 2 against the Canadiens, but hasn't played since the May 3 outing.
3. Can the Penguins take care of business at home and continue the roll that home teams are on in the second round?
Home teams have won the first five games of the second round to improve to 35-17 (.673) overall in the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs. The last time home teams had a winning percentage of .600 or higher for an entire NHL post-season was in 1993, when they went 52-33 (.612). The Senators have gone 2-2 on the road in this playoff run, while the Penguins have gone 3-1 at the Consol Energy Center.
Forward:
Cory Conacher -- Kyle Turris -- Daniel Alfredsson
Milan Michalek -- Mika Zibanejad -- Jakob Silfverberg
Colin Greening -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Erik Condra
Guillaume Latendresse -- Zac Smith -- Chris Neil
Defence:
Marc Methot -- Erik Karlsson
Jared Cowen -- Sergei Gonchar
Chris Phillips -- Andre Benoit
Goaltender:
Craig Anderson
Projected lineup for Pittsburgh
Forward:
Pascal Dupuis -- Sidney Crosby -- Jarome Iginla
Chris Kunitz -- Evgeni Malkin -- James Neal
Brenden Morrow -- Brandon Sutter -- Matt Cooke
Craig Adams -- Joe Vitale -- Tyler Kennedy
Defence:
Brooks Orpik -- Paul Martin
Kris Letang -- Matt Niskanen
Deryk Engelland -- Douglas Murray
Goaltender:
Tomas Vokoun
Follow Tim Wharnsby on Twitter @WharnsbyCBC.
Tim Wharnsby
Tim's worked the sports beat at The Globe and Mail and the Toronto Sun, specializing in Canada's one true sporting obsession - hockey. He knows the players, the coaches, the backroom boys and most importantly, the fans. That's what he brings to his stories. Knowledge, fairness and understanding are trademarks of a Wharnsby story. That's what you will get here as he writes for CBCSports.ca.
