Senators at Bruins
The Ottawa Senators lost a chance to take control of the Atlantic Division race over the weekend and now turn their attention toward securing a playoff spot when they visit the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. The Senators have gone four games without a victory (0-2-2), including overtime and regulation losses in a home-and-home series with first-place Montreal, and lead Boston by four points for second place in the Atlantic.
Ottawa, which won six in a row before its slide, is four points behind the Canadiens with a game in hand but only eight clear of ninth place in the Eastern Conference and cannot afford a lengthy swoon. “We have no issues with what’s going on right now,” Senators captain Erik Karlsson told reporters. “It’s one of those cycles you go through in the year. We have to learn from it. We have a great group of guys and we’re going to figure this out.” The Bruins will be trying to avoid a three-game slide when they return home from 2-2-0 road trip that ended with a 4-2 setback at Toronto on Monday that reduced their lead over the Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic to one point. David Pastrnak saw his 11-game point streak end Monday while Brad Marchand registered his team-leading 80th point with an assist.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN5, RDS2 (Ottawa), NESN (Boston)
ABOUT THE SENATORS (39-24-8): Ottawa faces a tough stretch with six of the next seven games on the road and must get its offense going again after scoring just six times during its winless streak. Norris Trophy candidate Karlsson leads the team with 65 points and has accumulated 13 of them over his last 12 games while Mike Hoffman has recorded 12 in as many contests. Alex Burrows - who has notched seven points in 10 games since being acquired from Vancouver at the trade deadline - has helped, but the Senators miss Mark Stone (50 points), who has missed five games with a lower-body injury.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (38-28-6): Marchand did not register a shot, but the All-Star set up David Backes’ goal on Monday to increase his career-high point total with his 10th in the last four contests. Pastrnak still has recorded 15 points in his last 12 games and 63 overall – 10 more than he totaled over his first two NHL seasons. Patrice Bergeron was in the lineup against Toronto despite missing Sunday's practice with an undisclosed injury and Matt Beleskey played as well after taking a puck to the face in the previous game.
OVERTIME
1. Boston C Dominic Moore recorded a game-high six shots Monday and scored the 100th goal of his NHL career.
2. The Senators have won six of the last seven meetings, including a pair of home victories this season.
3. Bruins C Noel Acciari notched an assist in a career-high 17 minutes, 32 seconds of ice time on Monday.