{coyotes} SENATORS (37-22-6) at COYOTES (23-35-7)

Thursday, 9 March 2017

{coyotes} SENATORS (37-22-6) at COYOTES (23-35-7)

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SENATORS (37-22-6) at COYOTES (23-35-7)

9 p.m. ET; FS-A, RDS2, TSN5, NHL.TV

Senators team scope

The Ottawa Senators are looking for their fifth straight win and 11th victory in their past 15 games. They are four points behind the Montreal Canadiens for first place in the Atlantic Division and four points ahead of the third-place Boston Bruins. Forwards Alexandre Burrows and Viktor Stalberg, each acquired prior to the NHL Trade Deadline, have helped the Senators offense, which is missing forwards Bobby Ryan, Chris Neil and Kyle Turris, each out with a finger injury. Burrows has four points (three goals, one assist) and Stalberg three points (two goals, one assist) in four games with Ottawa. Defenseman Mark Borowiecki (undisclosed) will not play; Fredrik Claesson will take his spot on the third defense pair alongside Chris Wideman. Forward Chris DiDomenico will make his NHL debut, playing on the Senators third line with Ryan Dzingel and Zack Smith. DiDomenico, 28, was a sixth-round pick (No. 164) of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2007 NHL Draft, and has played the past five seasons in Europe. He had 38 points (10 goals, 28 assists) in 48 games with SCL Tigers of National League A, the top professional league in Switzerland. Goaltender Mike Condon is expected to start, and looks to bounce back after allowing five goals on 34 shots in a 5-1 loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 27.

Coyotes team scope

Forward Radim Vrbata will become the 310th player in NHL history to play in 1,000 games and the 12th player to reach that milestone as a member of the Arizona Coyotes franchise. "It's a big number and there is lots of emotion, but you want to focus on the game and the things you normally do," said Vrbata, who has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in his past 13 games. "I've played half of my career here and I'm glad it worked out to where I get to play this game in front of Coyotes fans." Vrbata, with 336 points (152 goals, 184 assists) in 493 games with the Coyotes, is 10 points shy of reaching the top 10 for points in franchise history. "He's not only a great player, he's just a consummate pro that always does things the right way," captain Shane Doan said. "He's been a huge part of our team for years and years." Arizona's power play has three goals in its past 35 attempts, dropping the Coyotes to 27th in the NHL at 14.8 percent. Goaltender Mike Smith will start and look to improve his 3.42 goals-against average and .891 save percentage in 12 career games against the Senators.

Senators projected lineup

Alexandre Burrows -- Derick Brassard -- Mark Stone

Mike Hoffman -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Tom Pyatt

Ryan Dzingel -- Zack Smith -- Christopher DiDomenico

Viktor Stalberg -- Chris Kelly -- Tommy Wingels

Marc Methot -- Erik Karlsson

Dion Phaneuf -- Cody Ceci

Fredrik Claesson -- Chris Wideman

Craig Anderson

Mike Condon

Scratched: Jyrki Jokipakka

Injured: Clarke MacArthur (concussion), Bobby Ryan (broken finger), Chris Neil (broken finger), Kyle Turris (finger), Mark Borowiecki (undisclosed)