Devils at Senators
Both the Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils are well out of the race for an Eastern Conference playoff spot and some of the more exciting things will be happening off the ice in the next few months for the teams with the trade deadline on the horizon. The Devils hope to snap a three-game losing streak Monday night when they visit the Senators, who aim to build off a strong effort in the final game before the All-Star break.
New Jersey gave up 17 goals during its three-game slide to drop one point behind Ottawa in the East after recording 41 shots on net in a 5-0 loss to Columbus just before the break, but could have leading point producer Kyle Palmieri (foot) back in the lineup Monday. The Senators were suffering through a nine-game losing streak (0-5-4) before knocking off Calgary 5-2 on Jan. 18 as forward Connor Brown registered a goal to go along with an assist for the third consecutive contest and rookie goalie Marcus Hogberg made 42 saves. “We feel when we play our way we can compete with everybody in this league,” Ottawa defenseman Dylan DeMelo told reporters. “Some teams might out-skill us, but if we put in a good effort and play to our style we’re in every game, and it was good to see us get rewarded.” The teams have split the first two meetings this season with the road squad winning both, as Devils rookie center Jack Hughes won the last one 4-3 in overtime on Dec. 29 in Ottawa.
TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: MSG Plus, TSN5, RDS2
ABOUT THE DEVILS (17-24-7): Palmieri (16 goals, 31 points) had scored once and added two assists in three games before missing the last four, while his All-Star replacement and linemate Nico Hischier sits second on the team with 29 points. Forward Blake Coleman tops the club with 19 goals, including seven in the past eight contests, and 27-year-old rookie Nikita Gusev is hot on the heels of Hischier and Palmieri with 28 points. New Jersey has struggled in net and on defense all season, allowing 3.52 goals per game to rank 30th in the league, but goalie Mackenzie Blackwood (14-12-6, .905 save percentage) has had his moments.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (17-23-8): Ottawa will likely be without second-leading goal scorer Jean-Gabriel Pageau (19 goals, 31 points) due to a neck injury, which will give other forwards a chance to step up with more playing time. Brown tied Pageau in points with his offensive surge and both trail speedy left wing Anthony Duclair (21 goals, 33 points), who scored three times and set up a pair at the All-Star Game tournament Saturday. Hogberg (2-2-5) owns a .926 SP in his last five appearances and he is joined by veteran Craig Anderson (6-12-1), who has lost five in a row, while Anders Nilsson (9-9-2) continues to recover from a concussion.
OVERTIME
1. Ottawa F Vladislav Namestnikov scored in each of his last two games to reach double figures for the fifth straight season.
2. Hughes, the first pick in last June’s draft, has managed just one of his 17 points in the last five games.
3. The teams own the two worst power plays in the league as New Jersey is at 13.9 percent and Ottawa at 12.2.