Game 26 Hub: Nashville Predators @ Ottawa Senators

If this iteration of the Ottawa Senators are going to make the playoffs, they'll have to learn to beat teams who are already down in the dumps instead of serving as a rebound opportunity.

In November, both Edmonton and Vegas came into Ottawa on the second-half of back-to-backs, shut out the night before by the Habs and Leafs respectively, and beat the Senators. Tonight, the Predators come into Ottawa on a six-game losing streak, having been shutout on Thursday in Montréal.

Will we see a repeat of the pattern? Or will the Sens seize the day?

Lineups:

Here's how Ottawa lined up at the morning skate, where it was announced that Linus Ullmark would be tonight's starting netminder:

Meanwhile, here's how the Preds lined up last time out against the Habs. Two expected changes tonight: Tommy Novak in for Juuso Pärssinen and Juuse Saros in net for Justus Annunen:

Game Notes:

• Nashville is 1 for 19 on the powerplay over their last five games and have been shut out five times already this season. Andrew Brunette and co. are missing Ryan O'Reilly and Jeremy Lauzon, but everyone else is healthy...
• What's gone wrong? Well, based on the chances they've generated, the Preds should have scored 77 goals. They've scored... 54. Yikes. Newcomers Stamkos (7), Nyquist (6), and Marchessault (5) have been blamed for under-performing.
• Nashville has one of the bigger discrepancies in the league when it comes to shot attempts (ranked 11th, just behind Ottawa) not correlating with expected goals (ranked 21st)
• Juuse Saros has been his usual above-average self, but not at a world-beater level. This past week, Barry Trotz upgraded the backup goaltending position by trading journeyman Scott Wedgewood for the younger Justus Annunen.
• The Preds' powerplay should've generated more goals than it has, and they feature the top-ranked penalty kill. After the Sens powerplay failed to cash in against the Red Wings, the special teams battle will be interesting to watch.
• Adam Gaudette only played 8:00 against the Red Wings, but finds himself next to Tim Stützle again as Travis Green continues to flip him and Ridly Greig.
• FWIW, I thought both Shane Pinto and Zack Ostapchuk were skating hard against Detroit. If they keep using their feet and playing responsible, two-way hockey, the points will come.
• I can't imagine Nikolas Matinpalo would be any worse than Travis Hamonic or Jacob Bernard-Docker, and it'd be nice to see him get a game at some point given his strong work in Belleville over the last year. A European free agent like Artem Zub, Matinpalo's calling card is his defensive ability, and I've liked his positioning to support breakouts and transition offence in the AHL.

It's a 7:00pm ET start tonight. If you're driving to the game, be ready for the snow tonight! If you're watching on TV, you can catch tonight's game on Sportsnet One or TVA Sports 2 in Canada or FDSNSO in the United States.

Stats: