GAMEDAY 5: Senators vs. Sabres, Jan. 25
The set-up
The Sens (12-20-3) ended its three-game road with a 2-1 victory in Columbus Sunday night.
Buffalo (13-21-7) won 6-3 against Philadelphia Saturday and have points in three of their last four games.
Ottawa will play 13 of its next 16 games on home ice and will be looking to improve on its 5-10-0 record at Canadian Tire Centre this season.
In January, the Sens' penalty kill ranks seventh in the NHL at 85 per cent. On the other hand, the Sabres power play has converted 25.8 per cent of the time since Jan. 1.
Ottawa's power play struggled over the team's road trip as they went 0-for-8. However, the Sens have scored at least one power play goal in five straight home games and convert 22.2 per cent of the time on home ice.
Nine of Ottawa's 12 wins this year have come when they score first. Buffalo has conceded the fourth most first period goals in the NHL with 44 although the Sens have scored just 28 goals in the opening 20 minutes.
Both teams are 2-2-1 over their last five contests.
Roster notes
Erik Brannstrom was placed on the NHL's Covid-19 protocol earlier today and will be unavailable for at least five days.
Lassi Thomson was recalled from Belleville and will take Brannstrom's place in the lineup tonight.
"Lassi was coming up regardless [of Brannstrom news]," Sens head coach D.J. Smith. "We wanted another look at him down the stretch before the All-Star break. By all accounts he's been really really good in Belleville and we wanted to get him up and see where he's at compared to where he was in the stretch of games he played before that."
On Monday, the Senators reassigned Jacob Bernard-Docker, Filip Gustavsson and Logan Shaw to Belleville.
After not skating yesterday, here's how the Sens lines looked in this morning's skate:
Tkachuk - Norris - Sanford
Formenton - Stützle - Batherson
Paul - Gambrell - Watson
Ennis - Tierney - Gaudette
Bishop -Kastelic
Chabot - Thomson
Holden - Zub
Mete - J. Brown
Heatherington
Previous history
Tonight will be the 147th all-time meeting against the Sabres. Ottawa is 65-56-15 with 10 ties versus Buffalo and have won 36 of the 73 previous contests at Canadian Tire Centre.
Drake Batherson scored Ottawa's lone goal against the Sabres a week ago in a 3-1 loss. In 12 career games, Thomas Chabot has one goal and nine points when he faces Buffalo. His nine points against the Sabres is tied for the third most he's recorded against one team.
The two Atlantic Division rivals will conclude their season series April 20 in Buffalo.
Who to watch
Tim Stützle continues to shine for the Sens and that was highlighted with his goal Sunday in Columbus.
The centerman has four points over his last five games and has 11 points (six goals) in his last 13 games.
His nine power play points are the second most on the team while his 19 points ranks fifth. He has averaged 17:33 a game so far this season.
Where to watch
Tuesday's game can be seen live on TSN5 and RDS at 7 p.m. Fans can also tune into the radio call on TSN 1200 and Unique FM 94,5.
