Hurricanes at Senators
The Ottawa Senators got an unplanned day off and a quick return home after the bombings at the Boston Marathon forced the postponement of Monday’s game against the Bruins. The Senators will get back to the business of securing a playoff spot when they host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. Ottawa finished up its road trip with back-to-back wins that snapped a five-game slide and remains in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, four points ahead of ninth-place Winnipeg.
The Hurricanes were a playoff contender a month ago, but not a lot has gone right since. Carolina snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over Boston on Saturday to improve to 2-13-1 in its last 16 contests. The Hurricanes’ big problems have come on the blue line and in goal, while the Senators' struggles have been based around offense.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN (Carolina), Rogers Sportsnet East, TVA (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (17-22-2): Saturday’s triumph marked the first time in eight games this month Carolina had held an opponent to fewer than three goal and just the second time in the last 13 contests. Justin Peters made 28 saves against the Bruins and has been strong in the last two games, allowing two goals on 30 shots in a loss at Washington in the previous contest. “I wanted to put forth a great effort for the boys because of how hard they’ve been working and how great the atmosphere has been in here,” Peters told reporters after the win over Boston. Jeff Skinner has helped get the offense going with a goal in each of the last two contests.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (21-14-6): Ottawa had totaled seven goals during its five-game slide but got just enough offense at Philadelphia and New Jersey to make great goaltending performances from Robin Lehner and Craig Anderson stand up. Anderson posted a shutout in Friday’s 2-0 win at the Devils while the Senators managed to record two tallies on only 11 shots. Milan Michalek had one of those goals in his first game in over a month. The veteran had played only two games in the previous two months due to a knee injury but was out on the ice for nearly 15 minutes on Friday. Ottawa is kicking off a four-game homestand against the Hurricanes and will play six of the last seven on its own ice, not including a makeup trip to Boston if necessary.
OVERTIME
1. Carolina has taken four straight in the all-time series, all by one goal and two in overtime.
2. Michalek has been held to four points (one goal) in 13 career games against the Hurricanes.
3. Peters has never faced Ottawa and is 2-4-0 with a 2.63 goals-against average on the road this season.