Devils at Senators
The Ottawa Senators are mired in a three-game losing streak and will be without one of their top forwards when they host another slumping team in the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. Ottawa's Mike Hoffman will serve the first of a two-game suspension handed down by the NHL for cross-checking San Jose's Logan Couture in the back of the head in Wednesday's 4-3 loss.
The Senators have scored only five goals during the three-game skid so they will miss Hoffman, who is third on the third in points (21) and tied for second in goals (nine). Ottawa also has had trouble matching up with New Jersey, losing all three matchups last season and getting outscored 9-0 in the final two. The Devils, however, are in a spiral of their own, getting outscored by a staggering 19-5 count during a four-game slide. "We have to find a way to put the brakes on this skid and go on a streak of our own,” New Jersey netminder Cory Schneider said after Thursday's 5-2 setback at St. Louis.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG-Plus (New Jersey), Sportsnet360 (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE DEVILS (12-11-6): As the recent lopsided scores indicate, New Jersey has been thoroughly dominated during the four-game tailspin, permitting 56 more shots on goal to the opposition. The Devils did jump out to an early two-game lead against the Blues before surrendering five unanswered tallies in the second stop of their four-game road trip. “Teams are going to have a pushback and we have to be able to raise our game to a higher level again," New Jersey center Adam Henrique said. "We can’t just win one period.”
ABOUT THE SENATORS (16-11-3): Hoffman's suspension comes just as defenseman Mark Borowiecki returns from his own two-game ban for boarding Los Angeles' Tyler Toffoli. One bright spot in Wednesday's loss was Bobby Ryan, who ended a goal drought of more than six weeks with his first tally since Oct. 30. "I don’t worry about it," said Ryan, who scored 30 goals in four straight seasons with Anaheim (2008-12). "As long as we’re winning, I don’t care. If I score one goal for the rest of the year and we make the playoffs ... I don’t care one bit."
OVERTIME
1. F Mark Stone, Ottawa's second-leading scorer, has only one point in seven games versus the Devils.
2. New Jersey has only one regulation win in 18 road games (4-10-4) and is 1-7-3 in its last 11 away from home.
3. Former Senators coach and GM Bryan Murray will be the first member of Ottawa's Ring of Honour, with the ceremony set for Jan. 24.