Senators at Hurricanes
The Ottawa Senators will have a welcome addition when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday in search of their fifth victory in six games. Mark Stone, who missed the last two contests due to a suspension, shares the team lead in scoring and looks to extend his point streak to five games as Ottawa attempts to improve on a 5-1-0 road record.
The Senators have won their last two in extra time without Stone (13 points), including a 3-2 triumph over Winnipeg in a shootout on Thursday. The Hurricanes coughed up a lead in the 4-1 loss to Dallas on Friday, dropping to 1-4-0 at home in the early going. Jordan Staal netted his second tally of the season in the defeat for Carolina, which is near the bottom of the league while scoring just 2.08 goals per game. However, the Hurricanes have gained at least one point in six straight games against Ottawa (4-0-2) and are 8-1-2 in the last 11 meetings.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, RSN, TVA2 (Ottawa), FSN Carolinas
ABOUT THE SENATORS (7-4-2): Kyle Turris has registered four goals in his last five games and is tied with Stone in points while defenseman Erik Karlsson continues to shine with 12 assists and a plus-6 rating. Bobby Ryan has picked up his production of late with six points in six games along with fellow forward Mike Hoffman, who has notched five points in the last four contests. The Senators need to improve on special teams after going 2-for-35 on the power play over the last 11 games and sputtering at 76 percent on the penalty kill.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (5-8-0): Kris Versteeg, acquired late in the offseason from Chicago, was kept off the scoresheet by Dallas after recording five points in the previous two contests to take the team lead with 10. Captain Eric Staal has put up four points in the last five games after a four-game drought and is tied for second with Victor Rask at eight overall. Cam Ward, who has posted four of Carolina’s five victories and owns a 2.44 goals-against average in 10 contests, likely will be back in net against Ottawa after Eddie Lack played Friday.
OVERTIME
1. Carolina D Justin Faulk leads the team with 46 shots on goal, which puts him among the league leaders for blue-liners.
2. Ottawa G Craig Anderson has started 10 of the team’s 13 games, notching six victories with a .917 save percentage.
3. Hurricanes LW Jeff Skinner, who scored 33 times in 2013-14, has netted just one goal in his last eight games and two on the season.