Music: {allcanada} SENATORS (37-26-12) at RED WINGS (40-23-12)

Monday, March 30, 2015

{allcanada} SENATORS (37-26-12) at RED WINGS (40-23-12)

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Tuesday, March 31, 2015

7:30 PM ET

SENATORS (37-26-12) at RED WINGS (40-23-12)

TV: RDS, TSN5; FS-D

Season series: The Detroit Red Wings have won two of their three games against the Ottawa Senators. The teams haven't played since Gustav Nyquist's spectacular goal with 48 seconds left in overtime gave the Red Wings a road victory two days after Christmas.

Senators team scope: Ottawa flew to Detroit after practice Monday following a weekend that saw the Senators blow a two-goal lead in the third period of a 4-3 overtime loss at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, followed by a 4-2 home loss to the Florida Panthers on Sunday. The Senators enter the game trailing the Boston Bruins by three points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. They are six points behind the Red Wings, who are third in the Atlantic Division. Coach Dave Cameron didn't disclose who would start in goal; Craig Anderson played the two weekend games in place of Andrew Hammond, who was still feeling the effects of a collision with Logan Couture of the San Jose Sharks on March 23 and hasn't played since a 5-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday ended his career-starting 14-0-1 run. The practice Monday focused on basics; "straight lines and going to the net," said Cameron, who announced that forward Zack Smith and defenseman Patrick Wiercioch will dress in place of Colin Greening and Jared Cowen.

Red Wings team scope: Detroit, which didn't practice Monday, begins a stretch of four games in six days against teams in the playoff race needing to snap out of a 4-8-1 stretch that includes a 5-4 road loss to the New York Islanders on Sunday. They host the Bruins on Thursday, visit the Minnesota Wild on Saturday and return home to play the Washington Capitals on Sunday. The Red Wings have scored 16 goals in their past four games (four in each) but are 1-2-1 in that stretch because they've allowed 15 (plus an empty-netter). Jimmy Howard is likely to be back in goal against Ottawa after rookie Petr Mrazek followed up a 4-0 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday by allowing four goals on 11 shots before being replaced by Howard in the loss to the Islanders. Howard has had his own struggles in the past couple of weeks. "Petr and I have got to find a way," Howard, said, according to the Detroit Free Press. General manager Ken Holland told the Free Press that forwards Erik Cole and Riley Sheahan may be able to play Tuesday. Each missed the two weekend games due to an upper-body injury.

Team Stats