Senators at Devils
THE STORY: A late meltdown on home ice has the Senators once again dangling perilously over the .500 mark. They'll look to bounce back against a team in a similar position as they visit the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night. Ottawa looked to be in good shape against the Washington Capitals a night earlier, clinging to a one-goal lead in the third period. But the Capitals had other ideas, erupting for four goals to send the Senators to their third loss in the past four games. Thursday kicks off a difficult stretch for Ottawa, which goes on to play Vancouver, Boston and Pittsburgh a seven-day span. The Devils are coming off a hard-fought 3-2 overtime victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs that halted a four-game losing skid. Both teams find themselves on the outside of the top-eight in the Eastern Conference, but both remain within striking distance.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Rogers Sportsnet Ottawa, TVA, MSG+ 2
ABOUT THE SENATORS (13-12-3): Chris Neil had plenty to be miffed about Tuesday night. The Senators tough guy was given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after referees believed he was embellishing a spear given to him by Washington superstar Alex Ovechkin. It came moments after Neil had rocked Ovechkin with a clean hit. "Obviously, he didn't like taking the hit," Neil said after the game. "(The spear) was almost like a pitchfork, right in the gut."
ABOUT THE DEVILS (13-12-1): As important as it was to get a win over Toronto, New Jersey was more pleased with the performance of Martin Brodeur. After being pulled in his previous outing, Brodeur made 29 saves - several of the challenging variety - to keep his team in the game until David Clarkson ended things with the OT winner. Brodeur will get the call against the Senators. He is 35-22-4 with a 2.17 goals-against average and six shutouts all-time vs. Ottawa.
OVERTIME:
1. Alex Auld is expected to see action for the Senators on Wednesday. The backup netminder has never beaten New Jersey, sporting an 0-5-2 mark all-time.
2. New Jersey comes into the game having killed off its last 32 penalties, including a pair in its win over the Maple Leafs.
3. Milan Michalek celebrated his 27th birthday Tuesday with his 17th goal of the season, tying him with Toronto's Phil Kessel and Chicago's Jonathan Toews for the league lead.