Game 9 preview: Carolina Hurricanes @ Ottawa Senators

During their first three wins of the season, the Ottawa Senators allowed a total of 11 goals. During their last two wins though, the Senators did not allow a single goal. They will hope to keep that going when they return home for a run of three straight games at home. First up will be the eastern conference's last place team, the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes have won only one out of their six road games and two wins out of eight overall.

The Senators will go with the same lineup that won 2-0 in Edmonton. Craig Anderson, with a shutout in his previous two starts, will get the start again. Local jester Mark Borowiecki will play his ninth straight game of the season.

Here are the lines and pairings:

Smith - Pageau - Stone
Hoffman - Turris - Pyatt
Dzingel - Brassard - Ryan
Puempel - Kelly - Neil

Methot - Karlsson
Phaneuf - Ceci
Borowiecki - Wideman

Anderson (starter)
Driedger

Some notes for tonight:

• After starting the season with seven points in four games, Erik Karlsson has only one point in the last four.
• With about 10% of the season done, the Senators sit in third place in the division ahead of both Tampa Bay and Florida.
• Despite the 37 shots given up on Sunday, Ottawa has allowed the 10th fewest shots on goal per game in the NHL. That is a far cry from being at or near the bottom of the league for several years.
• Good guy Mike Hoffman finally got his first goal of the season. He is tied for 17th in the NHL with 30 shots on goal.
• Karlsson is behind only Cody Ceci for the most shorthanded ice time by Senators defencemen this season. Overall Karlsson's ice time is down significantly to just under 26 minutes per game.
• After a rough start to the season, Anderson has pushed his save percentage to 92.1%. Andrew Hammond and Chris Driedger are both under 80%.
• Both of the Hurricanes goaltenders have struggled this year, having a team save percentage of 86.4%.
• Only the Boston Bruins have fewer power play goals than Ottawa's three.
• The Senators are second in the NHL with 18 blocked shots per game. That is reflected in the significant difference between the team's Corsi and Fenwick./