by BY THE CANADIAN PRESS , Stratford Beacon Herald

With Matt Stajan set to miss his fourth straight game due to a freak eye injury, Wilson is still looking for the right replacement part to get his most productive line going again. Shifting Antropov from the wing to centre and promoting Lee Stempniak wasn't particularly effective, and after a dismal team-wide performance in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, Wilson decided to shake things up.

"He's got to be ready to go -- don't test the water, dive in the deep end and away you go, start paddling,'' Wilson said of Mitchell after practice Friday. "I think he understands that a bit better and here's an opportunity for him to play with two gifted people and contribute some offence for us.''

Mitchell ended a 21-game goal drought Thursday and has been a solid contributor in a limited role so far this season, with three goals and seven assists in 33 games. His minus-10 rating isn't pretty, but his focus has been on improving the defensive part of his game and killing penalties, not scoring goals.

A first-liner for the Toronto Marlies in the AHL last season, the change in roles has required some adjustment, one that the 23-year-old is happy to make.

"I'm not a Sidney Crosby or someone that can kind of just walk in and be given first line, second line treatment,'' he said. "I spent three years in the minors so obviously I had to work to get here and I'm going to have to work to climb up in the lines. ...

"It's an opportunity for me to hopefully show some of the skills that I have and utilize those two guys that are out there.''

Antropov and Ponikarovsky haven't been nearly as effective in Stajan's absence as they've been with him, generating just one assist in the first three games their centre has missed.

Asked if they missed Stajan, Antropov replied: "Of course. When you get chemistry with somebody, you just go out there and play, you know exactly where they're going to be or what he's going to do. When a new guy comes in, he kind of plays half-a-step back, just trying to be on the defensive side more than the offence.''

Vesa Toskala will be back in goal after back-to-back starts for Curtis Joseph provided him with a short break. He had allowed 14 goals in his three previous starts, all losses.

The Senators (13-17-5) could prove to be the right tonic for what ails the Maple Leafs (15-17-6).

While they head into this latest instalment of the Battle of Ontario with just one win in their last five games, the road-weary Sens come in with just three wins in their past 11 outings.

Copyright 2009 Sun Media Corporation All Rights Reserved
	Terms & Conditions     Privacy Copyright © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.