GAME DAY: Carolina Hurricanes at Ottawa Senators

Carolina (9-6-1) at Ottawa (5-9-1)

Saturday, 7 p.m., Canadian Tire Centre, Sportsnet One, TSN 1200 AM, Unique 94.5 FM


Thomas Chabot vs. Dougie Hamilton

The Senators’ top player had 27:13 of ice time against the Kings on Thursday, finished plus-2 and had three shots on net. Yes, Chabot was held pointless, but he plays big minutes and is such a smart player. He just needs to contribute a little more offensive. As for Hamilton, he has led the Canes this season and is having a breakthrough year. The 26-year-old’s success just shows that patience is a virtue with young players.


1. Pick up where you left off

The Senators gave up a late goal to the Kings in the 3-2 OT victory Thursday night, but showed resilience by bouncing back and winning it in the extra five minutes. Ottawa has competed hard under coach D.J. Smith and if the players bring that to the table every night then they’ll give themselves a chance at having success.

2. Nilsson returns to the net

It makes sense to go back to Anders Nilsson after he made 26 stops in the club’s victory over the Kings. He made some big stops to make sure the Senators were able to get the two points and he’s won his last two starts. A victory here before heading on the road again would be good for the Senators and their confidence.

3. Positive start to the series

This will be a rare two-game set against the Hurricanes that continues Monday night in Raleigh. Since the Senators are 14-30-4 lifetime on the road against the Hurricanes’ organization (that relocated from Hartford), a victory in Ottawa would be a good start. The Senators are 1-5-0 against Carolina in the last two seasons.

4. Pageau needs to keep rolling

Jean-Gabriel Pageau has embraced his role as a leader on this team and scored the OT winner against the Canes. He’s on a four-game point streak coming into this one, with 4-1-5 in the club’s last five games. Pageau is a smart player who is able to be in a shutdown role as well. Has emerged as such a valuable contributor.

5. Be strong on special teams

The Senators have had no shortage of opportunities on their power plays, but just don’t seem to be able to cash in. That’s why they’re giving players the chance to get the job done, but they have to improve with the man advantage. No complaints about their penalty killing because it’s been a strong area for the most part.


OTT: PP 7.4% (31st); 80.3% (19th)

CAR: PP 21.6% (13th); PK 79.7 (22nd)

Senators’ lines

Nick Paul-Jean-Gabriel Pageau-Connor Brown

Brady Tkachuk-Vladislav Namestnikov-Anthony Duclair

Tyler Ennis-Chris Tierney-Bobby Ryan

Filip Chlapik-J.C. Beaudin-Jonathan Davidsson

Defensive pairings

Thomas Chabot-Nikita Zaitsev

Erik Brannstrom-Ron Hainsey

Mark Borowiecki-Dylan DeMelo


Anders Nilsson

Craig Anderson

Hurricanes’ lines

Nino Niederreiter-Jordan Staal-Teuvo Teravainen

Andrei Svechnikov-Sebastian Aho-Warren Foegele

Ryan Dzingel-Lucas Wallmark-Martin Necas

Jamie McGinn-Eetu Luostarinen-Brian Gibbons

Defensive pairings

Jaccob Slavin-Dougie Hamilton

Jake Gardiner-Brett Pesce

Joel Edmundson-Trevor van Riemsdyk


Petr Mrazek

James Reimer


OTT: Rudolfs Balcers, Logan Brown, Colin White, Christian Wolanin

CAR: Erik Haula, Jordan Martinook

Twitter: @sungarrioch


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