Bruins at Senators
The red-hot Ottawa Senators are breathing a sigh of relief entering Tuesday's key Eastern Conference game against the visiting Boston Bruins. Ottawa squandered a four-goal lead before defeating Calgary 5-4 in a shootout Sunday for its eighth victory in the last nine games (8-0-1), but captain Erik Karlsson wasn't thrilled with the extra work needed to earn two important points. "We let it slip away from us due to fatigue, but at this time of year, everybody's tired,'' Karlsson told reporters. "It's not an excuse, and if you want to be an elite team, these are the games you've got to close out. You've got to know how to play under pressure when you're tired."
Boston has a four-point lead over Florida for the final wild-card spot and is five ahead of Ottawa, although the Senators have a game in hand. The Bruins, who play six of their next eight contests on the road, won two straight and four of their last five following Sunday's 5-3 victory over Detroit. "Since we've turned the page on the trades and all that stuff, it just seems, ‘OK, this is our group here and this is what we’re gonna go with,'" Boston coach Claude Julien told reporters. "And they seem to be really close knit and determined at the same time. I see a real strong focus right now."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), RDS2, TSN5 (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE BRUINS (33-22-10): Boston received a boost from its fourth line as Daniel Paille scored twice against Detroit and newcomer Max Talbot assisted on his second consecutive game-winning goal. "This team is so intense and so driven for that goal of playing some good hockey and reaching the playoffs and you feel the energy," Talbot told reporters after his third game with the Bruins since being acquired from Colorado. "You feel the character in this dressing room and you feel what’s ahead, and the guys are definitely driven for making a push here.'' Left wing Brad Marchand has a team-leading 22 goals and has scored in four straight games (five tallies) while right wing Loui Eriksson has found the net in two of the last three contests.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (30-23-11): Craig Anderson on Sunday played his first game since Jan. 21 after recovering from a hand injury and made 42 saves before stopping 4-of-6 in the shootout. "We give him lots of work,'' Ottawa coach Dave Cameron told reporters. "I thought he was real good. Real, real, real good. It's good to see him back, see him healthy again. I hope he's not allergic to rubber. He'll be dead." Rookie Mike Hoffman paces the Senators with 24 goals after scoring Sunday for the fourth time in six games and is a team-best plus-24 - sixth in the NHL among forwards through Sunday's games.
OVERTIME
1. Bruins C Patrice Bergeron (team-bests of 47 points and 29 assists) leads the NHL in faceoff win percentage at 59.9 percent.
2. Ottawa is 14-12-11 in one-goal games while the Bruins are 14-9-10.
3. The Senators won two of the three meetings this season - although both teams have earned four points in the series - with the final encounter in Ottawa on March 19.