OTTAWA -- Here are the projected lineups for the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Place:
SABRES
Thomas Vanek – Cody Hodgson – Jason Pominville
Marcus Foligno – Tyler Ennis – Drew Stafford
Steve Ott – Mikhail Grigorenko – Jochen Hecht
John Scott – Cody McCormick – Nathan Gerbe
Jordan Leopold – Mike Weber
Adam Pardy – Tyler Myers
TJ Brennan – Alexander Sulzer
Jhonas Enroth
Ryan Miller
Injuries: Patrick Kaleta, Andrej Sekera, Robyn Regehr, Ville Leino, Christian Ehrhoff
Scratches: Matt Ellis
Enroth exited the ice first after practice, indicating that he is likely to get the start. He has a career record of 3-0-1 against the Senators, with a 2.16 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage.
Ehrhoff skated briefly at the beginning of practice, then left the ice and did not return. Pardy, who was recalled from Rochester on Monday, is expected to fill the hole in the lineup.
SENATORS
Mika Zibanejad – Kyle Turris – Daniel Alfredsson
Milan Michalek – Zack Smith – Jakob Silfverberg
Colin Greening – Peter Regin – Chris Neil
Erik Condra – Stephane Da Costa – Jim O'Brien
Marc Methot – Erik Karlsson
Andre Benoit – Chris Phillips
Patrick Wiercioch – Mark Borowiecki/Sergei Gonchar
Craig Anderson
Ben Bishop
Injuries: Guillaume Latendresse, Jason Spezza, Jared Cowen, Mike Lundin
Scratches: Kaspars Daugavins, Mark Borowiecki
Da Costa, who was called up from Binghamton on Monday, will see time on the fourth line, flanked by Erik Condra and Jim O'Brien.
Coach Paul MacLean said Gonchar (flu) is expected to play, and Borowiecki would likely come out of the lineup. Both will take warm-up Tuesday night.
With only one goal in their last two games, offense has become a serious issue for the Senators. The loss of Spezza, who required back surgery to repair a herniated desk, is significant. However, the team knows that they must make up for his absence by any means necessary.
"You can never replace [Jason Spezza]," Turris said. "He's one of the best players in the League. To fill that void, we've got to simplify things, and get pucks and bodies to the net. Everybody kinds of tenses up [with the lack of offense] -- that's when you’ve got to keep shooting. Hopefully one goes off somebody's butt and in, and they all start trickling in after that."