Senators at Bruins
The Boston Bruins will be looking to avoid their longest losing streak of the season when they host the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night in the back end of a home-and-home series. The Bruins dropped their third straight game with a 3-1 setback at Ottawa on Sunday and now must go forward without leading scorer David Krejci, who was injured against the Senators.
Boston coach Claude Julien on Monday said Krejci, tied with Patrice Bergeron with a team-high 33 points, is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. "I don't think that we have a player that exactly can bring what David brings," Bruins captain Zdeno Chara said. "There is only one David Krejci, and nobody's asking anybody else to copy him. We've just got to focus on what we can do as a team." Ottawa has struggled on the road, dropping five in a row and seven of its last eight (1-6-1). It's the final game for Boston before Friday's Winter Classic versus Montreal at Gillette Stadium.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, RDS2, TSN5 (Ottawa), NESN (Boston)
ABOUT THE SENATORS (18-12-6): Goaltender Craig Anderson stood tall in Sunday's victory by making 38 saves, the fourth consecutive game in which he has faced at least 33 shots during a personal 3-0-1 stretch. "Obviously Andy is playing great for us. Asking him to do that every single night is not going to cut it," Senators forward Mark Stone said of the barrage of shots Anderson has been facing. "We realize he's a big part of our team, but at the same time we understand he can't do this every single night." Captain Erik Karlsson had a pair of assists Sunday to reach 40 points for the season.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (19-12-4): Center Ryan Spooner will take the place of Krejci on a line with Matt Beleskey and Loui Eriksson - much as he did last season when Krejci missed 35 games due to injury. "I'm excited for the challenge," said Spooner, who has eight goals and 14 assists. "I think for me I just need to be confident in myself, use my skill and my speed, and at the same time just make sure that I'm good in my own end. If I focus on that first I think the offense will come." Defenseman Torey Krug missed Sunday's game with an undisclosed injury and is listed as day-to-day after sitting out Monday's practice.
OVERTIME
1. Bruins G Tuukka Rask has permitted 10 goals in his last eight starts.
2. Karlsson has three goals and five assists during a six-game point streak.
3. Spooner has scored four times in six games against Ottawa.