Boston @ Ottawa preview
Canadian Tire Centre
Last Meeting ( Oct 23, 2018 ) Boston 4, Ottawa 1
The Boston Bruins ended their three-game slide with authority last time out and look to make it back-to-back wins on Sunday, when they visit the Ottawa Senators. Boston began the month with three straight losses before registering a 6-3 home victory over Toronto on Saturday.
Defenseman Torey Krug scored his first goal of the season and set up two others for the Bruins, who netted a total of four tallies during their losing streak. Boston received offensive contributions from unlikely sources as all six of its goal scorers have fewer than five thus far this campaign. Ottawa avoided a third straight setback on Saturday as it edged Pittsburgh 2-1 in overtime for its fifth win in seven home contests. Mark Stone set up both goals for the Senators, including Ryan Dzingel's power-play tally at 1:20 of the extra session, to forge a tie with Matt Duchene for the team lead with 34 points.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), TSN5, RDS2 (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE BRUINS (15-10-4): Gemel Smith made his team debut on Saturday, registering two shots and a minus-1 rating in 11 minutes, 40 seconds of ice time. The 24-year-old forward was claimed off waivers from Dallas on Thursday after recording two goals and one assist in 14 contests. David Pastrnak, who leads the team with 34 points, has posted back-to-back two-point performances and collected three goals and six assists over his last eight games.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (13-14-3): Ottawa figures to be without two of its better goal scorers for a while as Duchene (groin) and Bobby Ryan (concussion) were placed on injured reserve prior to Saturday's win. Duchene, who is tied with Dzingel for second on the team with 12 goals, is expected to miss several weeks while no timetable has been announced for Ryan. Defenseman Thomas Chabot, who already has set career highs in assists (25) and points (33), is one goal shy of matching the personal best of nine he recorded as a rookie last season.
OVERTIME
1. Bruins LW Brad Marchand collected three assists on Saturday but has scored just one goal in his last 12 games.
2. Ottawa recalled rugged LW Nick Paul, who received less than 4 1/2 minutes of ice time on Saturday, from Belleville of the American Hockey League.
3. Boston LW Jake DeBrusk (undisclosed) is expected to miss his second straight game Sunday and is day-to-day.
PREDICTION: Bruins 3, Senators 1