Senators at Coyotes
The Ottawa Senators continue their road trip with a visit to the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. The Coyotes are in the midst of a six-game homestand, winning two of their first three to improve their disappointing home record to 9-9-3. The Senators have two contests remaining on a four-game road trip and are winless in their last three.
Mike Smith appears to have regained control of the crease in Arizona with three straight starts after Devan Dubnyk got the nod in seven of the previous eight. The Coyotes have the worst home penalty-killing in the league, but Ottawa’s power play is 9-for-78 in road games, which is part of the reason its away record is 8-11-4. The Pacific is the only division against which the Senators have a winning record (3-2-1).
TV: 7 p.m. ET, City, Fox Sports Arizona
ABOUT THE SENATORS (16-16-8): Todd Bertuzzi signed a professional tryout contract with Ottawa’s AHL affiliate Binghamton on Friday. Craig Anderson was pulled for Robin Lehner after allowing three goals in Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche but is expected to start Saturday. Defenseman Marc Methot returned to the lineup Thursday for his first game since Dec. 6 and played 17:39.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (16-20-4): Defenseman Zbynek Michalek (upper body) missed Thursday’s 4-1 victory over Winnipeg and forward Martin Hanzal (upper body) has been sidelined for the last two. Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson has three goals in five games and is tied for the team lead with 11, marking the third straight full season where he has reached the 10-goal plateau. Mikkel Boedker, who is tied with Ekman-Larsson for the team lead in goals, scored twice Thursday for his first tallies since Dec. 6.
OVERTIME
1. Ottawa has recorded one road win in regulation since the end of October.
2. Smith has a .900 save percentage from his three January starts for Arizona.
3. Senators captain Erik Karlsson leads all players on either team with 28 points.