Fresh off the Battle of Ontario, the Senators host the Utah Hockey Club for the first time ever on Sunday.
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Sunday, 5 p.m., Canadian Tire Centre
TV: TSN5 Radio: TSN 1200
Odds: Ottawa +164 Utah -205
This is the third straight weekend the Senators will play back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday.
After facing the Toronto Maple Leafs in the only Battle of Ontario in Ottawa this season with a 2-1 victory on Saturday, the Senators will host the Utah Hockey Club for the first time in franchise history.
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The loss of Nick Cousins against the Leafs means that the Senators will have to make a change up front. The possibility of the return of centre Josh Norris shouldn’t be ruled out.
That club moved to Salt Lake City from Arizona last spring, and this is the second game between the Senators and UHC this season. Ottawa scored a 4-0 victory in Utah on Oct. 22.
Drake Batherson, Claude Giroux, Ridly Greig and captain Brady Tkachuk scored goals in that one, while Anton Forsberg earned the shutout with 28 stops.
The Senators entered Saturday’s visit by the Leafs with a perfect 4-0 record on weekends in January. This will be their 50th game of the 2024-25 National Hockey League regular season.
You have to expect that Leevi Merilainen will be in the net for this one.
He dressed as the backup on Saturday against the Leafs and Forsberg made the start. Injured goalie Linus Ullmark is inching closer to a return to action and head coach Travis Green hopes to see him back soon.
Ullmark participated in Saturday’s morning skate, but he still wasn’t ready to play.
This is a big one for Merilainen.
He has lost two straight starts and was pulled during his last appearance on Tuesday in New York. He had only given up two goals against the Rangers, but was fortunate that two other were called back after video review challenges by the coaching staff.
The 22-year-old Merilainen heads into this game with a 6-3-1 record, a 2.32 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him sent back to the American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville once Ullmark is set to go again.
Belleville doesn’t have either Mads Sogaard or Malcolm Subban available right now because of injuries.
Tkachuk/Stutzle/Perron
Giroux/Greig/Batherson
TBD/Pinto/Amadio
Highmore/Ostapachuk/Gaudette
Sanderson/Zub
Chabot/Hamonic
Kleven/Matinpalo
Forsberg/Merilainen
Keller/Cooley/Schmaltz
Maccelli/Hayton/Doan
McBain/Bjugstad/Crouse
Carcone/Stenlund/Kerfoot
Maatta/Marino
Cole/Kesselring
Valimaki/DeSimone
Ingram/Vejmelka
C Josh Norris (upper body, possible to return); F Nick Cousins (leg, out for a lengthy period) D Jacob Bernard-Docker (high-ankle sprain, six weeks); F Noah Gregor (lower body, out for a lengthy period); G Linus Ullmark (back, day-to-day); F Cole Reinhardt (upper body, skating); D Nick Jensen (unspecified injury, won’t play).
LW Sam Lipkin (undisclosed); D Sean Durzi (shoulder); D Maveric Lamoureux (upper-body); D Robert Bortuzzo (lower-body); RW Dylan Guenther (lower-body); D Mikhail Sergachev (upper-body).
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