There were only two games yesterday, but the out-of-town scoreboard once again disappointed. Buffalo’s invincibility might have finally run out, as the Red Wings dismantled them 5-2.

This draws the Red Wings back even with the Sens, with both teams rocking 86 points through 72 games – just one point back of the final wild card spot, with a game in hand. The Sens own the tie-breaker (32 regulation wins to Detroit’s 28) and still control their own destiny, but it would be nice if at least one or two of the wildcard competitors could start consistently losing.

Today’s game is a big one for Ottawa, as a win would boost their playoff chances by 11% (per moneypuck). The two teams haven’t met since the season opener, when the Sens set the tone with a 5-4 win over the Lightning. A lot has changed since October but Ottawa will be hoping that result is a sign of how things will go this afternoon.

Tampa is a tough opponent. They put up the second-most goals per game in the league at 3.61 while allowing just 2.78, which is good for fourth-fewest in the NHL. Their playoff spot is pretty much a foregone conclusion, but they’ll still be playing with something on the line this afternoon: a win gets them even with Buffalo for first in the Atlantic Division. That said, the Lightning’s recent form has been middling, going just 5-3-2 over their last ten which was capped off by a 4-3 overtime loss to Seattle.

Tampa are currently without their captain, who is away from the team for personal reasons. Other than the loss of Hedman, however, the rest of their roster is pretty intact. Nikita Kucherov has been on a generational tear, currently tied with McDavid in the scoring race. He won first star honours last week and has racked up 10 points in his last five games. Meanwhile in net, Andrei Vasilevskiy is always a concern for opposing offences (Tim Stützle recently called him the hardest goalie to play against), though he has actually been beatable in this particular matchup. Despite a winning career record against Ottawa, his 3.07 GAA and .894 save percentage against the Sens sit below his typical standard, which is somewhat encouraging.

Linus Ullmark stole Ottawa a point against Pittsburgh just days ago, and the Sens will be hoping he can rise to the occasion again this afternoon. His numbers against Tampa are solid, with a 2.88 GAA and a .906 save percentage in his career against the Lightning. On the blueline, Jake Sanderson has rejoined the team on this road trip but has not yet returned to skating with the group. He is expected to remain out this afternoon.

The out-of-town scoreboard will be working overtime today. If you can stomach keeping an eye on it, games to watch will be the Islanders-Panthers, Canadiens-Predators, Wild-Bruins, Blue Jackets-Sharks, Penguins-Stars, and Red Wings-Flyers.

But first, you can catch the Senators taking on the Lightning at 1 PM ET on TSN/RDS.

Senators Projected Lines

Batherson – Stützle – Giroux

Tkachuk – Cozens – Greig

Cousins – Pinto – Amadio

Foegele – Eller – Zetterlund

Kleven – Zub

Spence – Matinpalo

Donovan – Yakemchuk

Injured: Thomas Chabot (forearm), Jake Sanderson (upper body), Nick Jensen (knee), Dennis Gilbert (upper body), Lassi Thomson (lower body)

Scratched: Kurtis MacDermid, Stephen Halliday

Lightning Projected Lines

Hagel – Cirelli – Kucherov

Goncalves – Point – Guentzel

Girgensons – Gourde – Holmberg

Perry – Paul – Bjorkstrand

Raddysh – Moser

McDonagh – Cernak

Lilleberg – D’Astous

Injured: Declan Carlile (undisclosed), Max Crozier (core muscle), Dominic James (lower body)

Scratched: Victor Hedman, Scott Sabourin, Steven Santini

Head-to-Head Stats