2009 - 2010 NHL regular season begins on Saturday with games in Prague and Stockholm

Sweden - Daniel Alfredsson has spent the last few days enjoying the spotlight in his native Sweden, but now the Ottawa Senators captain is ready to business.

The Senators spent the first 4 days of their European road trip in Alfredsson"s hometown, where the Sens will kick off the regular season against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday - 2:45 p.m. Eastern.

The veteran winger said Friday. "It probably won"t sink in until I get back to Ottawa next week and kind of relax and enjoy it all. It"s been a great experience so far, a tremendous ego trip for me.

"Now we know the season starts."

The teams will play again Sunday at the Globe Arena before returning to North America. The New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning will also open overseas with games Saturday (noon ET) and Sunday in Prague.

Ottawa arrived in Stockholm on Friday for an afternoon practice but Alfredsson opted not to skate, citing "bumps and bruises." He is expected to play Saturday.

Centre Mike Fisher is more doubtful for the Senators because of a groin problem. Pittsburgh winger Petr Sykora also has a groin problem and his status for the opener is unclear.

While the NHL might consider Ottawa-Pittsburgh a fitting matchup between the Sens" Swedish star and Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby, the face and future of the league, the teams see it differently.

They have developed a rivalry that started when some players for their American Hockey League affiliates, Binghamton and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, faced each other regularly during the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

Things escalated the in the NHL post-season the past two years.

In the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs in 2007, Ottawa swept a young Penguins team that ended a six-year post-season drought and the Senators went on to reach the Stanley Cup final. In a first-round rematch last spring, Pittsburgh returned the favour, sweeping Ottawa on its way to the final.

"It"s been intense the past couple years," Crosby said. "Two years in a row in the playoffs will do that pretty easily. That"s to be expected."