Senators at Blackhawks
The Ottawa Senators look to turn things around after a rough end to December when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. The Senators have lost four of their last five games (1-3-1), giving up seven goals to Boston and getting shut out by New Jersey in the last two, while Chicago has won two straight and nine of 13.
Ottawa would like to find the form that led to a 4-3 overtime victory over the Blackhawks on Dec. 3 in which it received two goals from Mike Hoffman, who has scored once in his last seven games. The Senators must be sharp defensively against the defending Stanley Cup champions, who have recorded 11 goals in their last two contests – five on the power play. Patrick Kane has posted six of his league-leading 56 points in the last two games for Chicago while captain Jonathan Toews has scored in each of the last two. Corey Crawford is expected back in net after resting in 4-3 overtime win over Colorado on Thursday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network, Sportsnet, TVA (Ottawa), CSN Chicago
ABOUT THE SENATORS (18-14-6): Special teams have been a concern of late as Ottawa has surrendered five power-play goals in the last two games and is 3-for-32 with the man advantage over a 10-game span. Captain Erik Karlsson continues to produce with nine points in his last eight contests and leads the team with 41 while fellow defenseman Cody Ceci (upper body) still is questionable after missing the last four games. Mark Stone has registered 19 points in 18 road contests.
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (22-13-4): Toews is continuing his clutch play, recording his sixth game-winning goal and fourth in overtime against Colorado, and has scored four times in his last seven contests overall. The Blackhawks are getting more from their defense of late as two-time Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith has notched four points in two games and Brent Seabrook four in the last three. Andrew Desjardins has scored three of his four goals in the last two contests.
OVERTIME
1. Chicago is 22-8-4 when Kane registers a point this season and 0-5-0 when he has been blanked.
2. Ottawa G Craig Anderson, who is expected back in net after allowing seven goals against Boston on Tuesday, has faced a league-high 1,010 shots.
3. The Blackhawks have won five of the last seven meetings.