Senators at Devils
A pair of teams that are well back in the Eastern Conference playoff chase will square off when the New Jersey Devils host the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night. Both the Senators and Devils are sitting in sixth place in their respective divisions and are 11 and 13 points, respectively, back for the final postseason slot in the East. Ottawa has won six of the last eight meetings in the series, including three of its past four visits to New Jersey.
The Devils are on a bit of a roll, extending their point streak to four games and improving to 6-2-2 in their last 10 following Saturday's 3-1 home victory over Florida. "We're on a roll now," said forward Michael Cammalleri, who scored his team-high 16th goal Saturday. "You never know; we can snap off 20 in a row here." The Senators, who have dropped seven of their last 11, are seeking consecutive victories for the first time since Dec. 29-Jan. 3.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, RDS2 (Ottawa), MSG Plus (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE SENATORS (20-19-9): With Craig Anderson on injured reserve with a hand injury, backup Robin Lehner made 35 saves in Saturday's 7-2 rout of Arizona to snap a five-start losing streak. "We've been working hard on locating what the problem is when I start playing bad, and we've been working hard the last three weeks to fix my game," Lehner said. "It's a turning point for me, and hopefully I can build on it." Forward Bobby Ryan has three goals and eight assists in his last nine games, including three straight two-point performances.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (19-22-9): Forward Steve Bernier struggled through a dreadful season in 2013-14, scoring only three times in 78 games, and had matched that total through 29 contests this campaign before coming alive over the past 2 1/2 weeks. Bernier has scored in back-to-back games to give him five tallies in his last seven contests along with a spectacular pass to set up a goal by Cammalleri on Saturday. "I'm being a little creative and getting better chances to score," Bernier said. "I've been lucky with the way things are going."
OVERTIME
1. Devils RW Jaromir Jagr is two goals shy of tying Phil Esposito (717) for fifth place on the NHL's all-time list.
2. Senators rookie F Mike Hoffman has seven goals in 14 games since the Christmas break.
3. Devils C Patrik Elias needs one goal to reach 400 for his career.