Senators at Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes look to keep alive their slim playoff hopes Monday as they attempt to complete a sweep of their home-and-home series against the visiting Ottawa Senators. Carolina, which posted a 5-2 victory in Ottawa on Saturday, trails New Jersey by nine points for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining - including a showdown in the Garden State on Tuesday.
Jordan Staal and Phillip Di Giuseppe each recorded a goal and an assist on Saturday while Sebastian Aho set up a tally to extend his career-high point streak to eight games as the Hurricanes won for the third time in four contests. Ottawa's losing streak reached four games with the setback, which concluded a three-game homestand. Captain Erik Karlsson was back in the lineup after missing two contests due to the death of his unborn son and recorded an assist, giving him points in 15 of his last 21 games. The 27-year-old Swedish defenseman has registered seven multi-point performances while collecting three goals and 20 assists in that span.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN5, RDS2 (Ottawa), FS Carolinas
ABOUT THE SENATORS (26-37-11): Bobby Ryan, who recorded four consecutive 30-goal seasons with Anaheim from 2008-12, scored his ninth of the season on Saturday. The 31-year-old right wing, who notched his 500th career point in his previous contest, is hoping to avoid finishing in single digits for the first time since his rookie campaign in 2007-08. Tom Pyatt, who appeared in his 400th NHL game on Saturday, needs two points to reach 100 for his career and match the personal best of 23 he posted last season.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (33-31-11): Noah Hanifin was back in the lineup Saturday after missing three contests due to a concussion and ended his nine-game goal-scoring drought. It was the 30th point of the season for the 21-year-old defenseman, eclipsing the career high he set last campaign. Teuvo Teravainen was kept off the scoresheet Saturday for just the second time in 13 contests, ending a seven-game point streak during which he notched four goals and five assists.
OVERTIME
1. Aho, who leads the Hurricanes with 62 points, has collected three goals and eight assists during his streak.
2. Ottawa C Matt Duchene, who is three goals shy of 200 for his career, has recorded just one point over his last four contests after registering three straight two-point efforts.
3. Carolina rookie F Valentin Zykov has recorded two goals and two assists in two contests after being kept off the scoresheet in his season debut.