The Ottawa Senators’ Upcoming Matchups
The Ottawa Senators are on a roll, having achieved a three-game winning streak, as they prepare to take on a crucial trio of matchups against prominent opponents in the Atlantic Division. Their upcoming journey kicks off on Sunday evening at the TD Garden, where they will face the Boston Bruins. Following this contest, they will host the thriving Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday at the Canadian Tire Centre, before concluding this significant run with a Saturday night clash against the Toronto Maple Leafs right after the holiday break.
Current Standings and Recent Performance
With four victories in their last five outings, the Senators find themselves just three points away from both the Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are currently tied with 41 points in the standings. The competitive nature of the division means that there’s hardly any margin for error for Ottawa. At this point, Tampa Bay’s superior points percentage (.586) earns them the third spot in the Atlantic.
Previous Encounters
Interestingly, Sunday’s match will mark the final encounter of the season between the Senators and Bruins. Their previous three games have been quite dramatic; Ottawa started strong with a commanding 7-2 win in October, followed by a narrow 3-2 overtime defeat on November 6, before bouncing back to secure a 5-3 victory just a week later.
Team Updates and Key Players
While the Bruins have struggled recently, losing three out of their last four matches—including a shootout defeat to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday—the Senators are looking to maintain their momentum after a 6-4 win against the Chicago Blackhawks the same day. A victory on Sunday would give Ottawa their first four-game winning streak of the season.
Roster changes are anticipated for Sunday’s matchup as Tyler Kleven was injured against Chicago and will miss the game. Nikolas Matinpalo is expected to step into the lineup, likely taking up a position on the third pairing, similar to his role during Thomas Chabot’s previous absence. Chabot himself made a notable return on Saturday, contributing an assist and logging significant ice time following Kleven’s injury.
Key players for the Bruins, who will be looking to bounce back, include David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie, with the latter leading the team with 25 goals and 39 points while Pastrnak follows closely with 38 points. However, there’s a noticeable drop-off in scoring after these two stars, even as the Bruins still wield considerable offensive firepower.
Goaltending and Lineups
As both teams played on Saturday, neither enjoyed a morning skate in preparation for this matchup. After Leevi Merilainen’s start against the Blackhawks, the Senators are likely to lean on goaltender Linus Ullmark for this encounter, while Joonas Korpisalo is expected to guard the net against his former team, with Jeremy Swayman standing in for Boston on Saturday.
Projected Lineups
Projected Lineup for the Senators:
Brady Tkachuk – Tim Stützle – Fabian Zetterlund
David Perron – Dylan Cozens – Drake Batherson
Michael Amadio – Ridly Greig – Claude Giroux
Kurtis MacDermid – Stephen Halliday – Nick Cousins
Jake Sanderson – Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot – Nick Jensen
Nikolas Matinpalo – Jordan Spence
Linus Ullmark
Leevi Merilainen
Projected Lineup for the Bruins:
Marat Khusnutdinov – Elias Lindholm – David Pastrnak
Casey Mittelstadt – Pavel Zacha – Morgan Geekie
Tanner Jeannot – Fraser Minten – Mark Kastelic
Jeffrey Viel – Sean Kuraly – Michael Eyssimont
Nikita Zadorov – Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm – Andrew Peeke
Mason Lohrei – Victor Söderström
Joonas Korpisalo
Jeremy Swayman
