Bruins look to continue home surge against Senators

SENATORS (15-17-7) at BRUINS (25-10-2)

TV: RDS, SNET-E, NESN

Last 10: Ottawa 4-3-3; Boston 7-3-0

Season series: This is the second of four games. The Ottawa Senators earned a 4-2 victory against the Boston Bruins on Nov. 15 when they battled back from a 2-0 deficit with four unanswered goals.

Big story: The Bruins have been hot at home with wins in 12 of their past 14 games (12-0-2) and will try to extend their winning streak at TD Garden to eight. The Senators will seek to avoid a four-game road losing streak (0-2-1) when they visit Boston.

Team Scope:

Senators: Ottawa lost three of four games (1-2-1) before the three-day holiday break, but its final game of the stretch was a convincing 5-0 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday that ended the Penguins' seven-game winning streak. The penalty killing unit halted all seven Pittsburgh power-play opportunities and the offense was well-balanced with goals from five different players. Defenseman Erik Karlsson had a goal and helped on a Kyle Turris goal for his 200th career assist.

"[The Penguins] got some momentum in the second but our [penalty] killers did a great job," said Senators goalie Craig Anderson. "When we had the puck on our stick we made sure we got it down 200 feet."

Bruins: Boston entered the break with wins in seven of its past nine games and will look to keep up the strong play when it hosts one of its Atlantic Division rivals. A combination of seasoned veterans and young talent helped the Bruins to a spirited 6-2 win against the Nashville Predators in the final game before the break Monday. Jarome Iginla scored two goals and 21-year-old Ryan Spooner had three assists to help coach Claude Julien earn his 400th NHL win. Defenseman Adam McQuaid returned to action after missing nine games with a lower-body injury and fought Eric Nystrom on his initial shift early in the first period.

Coach Claude Julien acknowledged his career achievement following the victory against Nashville, but was focused on the task at hand.

"Right now, you hope as a coach, that there’s a lot more ahead for you so I’m looking for a little bit more than just 400 wins," Julien said.

Who's Hot: Karlsson has eight points (two goals, six assists) in the past six games for the Senators to lead all NHL defensemen in points with 37. P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens and Karlsson are the only two defensemen to lead their respective teams in points this season. ... Spooner has four assists in his past two games for Boston.

Injury Report: Senators forward Mika Zibanejad (flu) was set to return Monday from an upper-body injury, but was a late scratch. ... Bruins forward Chris Kelly (broken ankle) is on injured reserve. Forward Loui Eriksson (concussion) and defenseman Dougie Hamilton (lower body) are also on IR, but Eriksson was with the team Sunday and Hamilton resumed skating this past Saturday. Forward Daniel Paille (concussion-like symptoms) is out indefinitely, although he also skated at the final practice before the break.