Red Wings at Senators
Expectations were at a bare minimum for the Ottawa Senators following a roster overhaul that began a year ago and the team has met those expectations -winning once in eight games and owning an NHL-worst three points. The Senators hope a return to Canadian Tire Centre will end their tailspin when they open a three-game homestand versus the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night.
Ottawa is 30th in the league in scoring at 2.13 goals per game after dropping a 2-1 decision at the 31st-ranked Dallas Stars on Monday, its fourth consecutive defeat. "The onus is on us as players," Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki told reporters. "It's time for us to take a little bit of ownership as players. It's not a complicated fix ... it's about a level of compete and a little more attention to detail." The Red Wings appeared well on their way to halting a four-game slide of their own before surrendering five unanswered goals in the third period of Tuesday's 5-2 home loss to Vancouver. Detroit has won five of eight meetings over the past two seasons against its Atlantic Division rival, limiting the Senators to two goals or fewer six times.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Detroit Plus, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet One, RDS2 (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (3-6-0): Detroit's sputtering power play had managed only two goals in 21 chances through the first eight games before doubling that total as Anthony Mantha and defenseman Dennis Cholowski converted with the man advantage Tuesday. Mantha continued his torrid start with his team-leading seventh goal and also had a season-high nine shots on net, but he was limited to one assist in three matchups against Ottawa in 2018-19. Jonathan Bernier, who split four starts this season, blanked the Senators in their only start against them last season.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (1-6-1): Ottawa has mustered only five goals during its four-game skid and its power play has been woefully inept, sitting at the bottom of the pack with a success rate of 4.0 percent after converting on only 1-of-25 chances. One of the few bright spots has been forward Vladislav Namestnikov, who was acquired from the New York Rangers following the second game of the season and has a team-high four goals and six points in six contests after tallying in back-to-back games. Connor Brown is tied for the points lead after collecting his sixth assist Monday.
OVERTIME
1. Red Wings C Dylan Larkin has two goals and four assists in the last seven meetings against Ottawa.
2. Senators D Thomas Chabot has points in three straight overall and had three points in four games versus Detroit last season.
3. Detroit removed D Jonathan Ericsson from injured reserve and placed him on waivers Tuesday.