OTTAWA -- Mika Zibanejad has played center and right wing during his time with the Ottawa Senators, but Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres, he'll get a chance to play in the middle on the team's top line.
The 19-year-old will be will be flanked by Daniel Alfredsson and Milan Michalek.
Senators coach Paul MacLean said he wasn't concerned with where Zibanejad was playing up front.
"I don't have a lot of opinion but we have some good conversation about it," MacLean said. 'I believe he's a good center. He's got a good size-and-skate combo for the middle of the rink, and I like that in a center. The only the qualities are centers have to be good playmakers as well. So there are some things he has to learn. But right now, with the injury to Peter Regin, we're going to give him the opportunity [to play.]"
The Senators placed Regin (chest) on injured reserve retroactive Feb. 9. He will not be eligible to play until Feb. 16, when the Senators play the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Here are the projected lineups for the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators when they meet Tuesday at Scotiabank Place:
SABRES
Thomas Vanek - Cody Hodgson - Jason Pominville
Marcus Foligno - Tyler Ennis - Drew Stafford
Steve Ott - Mikhail Grigorenko - Nathan Gerbe
Cody McCormick - Jochen Hecht - Patrick Kaleta
Christian Ehrhoff - Andrej Sekera
Injured: Ville Leino
Scratched: TJ Brennan, Alexander Sulzer, John Scott
SENATORS
Milan Michalek - Mika Zibanejad - Daniel Alfredsson
Colin Greening - Kyle Turris - Jakob Silfverberg
Erik Condra - Zack Smith - Chris Neil
Kaspars Daugavins - Stephane Da Costa - Jim O'Brien
Chris Phillips - Patrick Wiercioch
Injured: Peter Regin, Jason Spezza, Jared Cowen
Scratched: Andre Benoit
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