The Sens have an opportunity here, and can't afford to let it slip away. They are facing a struggling Rangers team this afternoon, and an even worse Leafs squad on Tuesday, before going four straight games against top drawer teams. Here's what needs to happen.

• The Sens need to rediscover their scoring touch. The potential for ringing up the scoreboard is huge. Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek, Mike Fisher, Alexei Kovalev, and even Jonathan Cheechoo need to start producing some numbers early and often.
• The way to do this is to put the puck on net often and have someone in the slot to grab juicy rebounds. They need to crash the net. They need to be hungry for goals, not for the perfect play.
• Strangely, no problems on the D, as long as Alexandre Picard doesn't screw up too severely.
• Brian Elliott, who is starting in nets for the Sens, has a chance to show his moxy and maybe get a few more starts. Clearly, Pascal Leclaire has been soft, and a good showing today may mean Elliott gets another start against the Leafs.

The Senators need these two wins (today and Tuesday) in order to gain some confidence before facing the big boys. Following the game against the Leafs, the Senators will have to face the Penguins, the Sabres, the Capitals and the Devils. Those are the top four teams in the conference. A couple of wins todays and Tuesday, followed by a respectable showing against the top four temas could turn this still early season around for our boys.