Blue Jackets at Senators preview

BLUE JACKETS (22-13-3) at SENATORS (11-16-8)
7:30 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS, FS-O, NHL.TV

Werenski has missed the past four games because of an undisclosed injury. The Blue Jackets didn't have a morning skate but assigned defenseman Gabriel Carlsson to Cleveland of the American Hockey League, making it likely Werenski will return.
The Blue Jackets will try for a point for the fifth consecutive game. They're 2-0-2 in their past four after going 1-3-0 in their previous four.
The Senators are hoping to end a four-game losing streak (0-3-1). They're 2-7-2 in their past 11 games.

Players to watch

Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky needs one win for 200 in the NHL.
Senators forward Mark Stone has seven assists in his past seven games.

They said it

"I think we have to pick our spots. We have to be smarter in some of the chances that we do take." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella, on playing through the team's injuries
"The group hasn't been living up to what we expected, but there's still a lot of time left in the season. For our jobs in here, we come to work every day … all we can really do is look forward." -- Senators forward Mike Hoffman

Blue Jackets projected lineup

Artemi Panarin -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Josh Anderson
Boone Jenner -- Nick Foligno -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Sonny Milano -- Lukas Sedlak -- Matt Calvert
Tyler Motte -- Jordan Schroeder -- Markus Hannikainen
Zach Werenski -- Seth Jones
Jack Johnson -- David Savard
Scott Harrington -- Markus Nutivaara
Sergei Bobrovsky
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratched:Dean Kukan
Injured: Ryan Murray](https://www.nhl.com/player/ryan-murray-8476850?season=20172018) (upper body), Brandon Dubinsky (fractured orbital bone), Alex Wennberg (back), Cam Atkinson (fractured foot)

Senators projected lineup

Ryan Dzingel -- Matt Duchene -- Bobby Ryan
Tom Pyatt -- Derick Brassard -- Mark Stone
Mike Hoffman -- Filip Chlapik -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau
Nicholas Paul -- Nate Thompson -- Alexandre Burrows
Johnny Oduya -- Erik Karlsson
Dion Phaneuf -- Cody Ceci
Ben Harpur -- Thomas Chabot
Mike Condon
Craig Anderson
Scratched:None
Injured:Zack Smith (shoulder), Chris Wideman (hamstring), Mark Borowiecki (concussion), Gabriel Dumont (ankle)
Suspended: Fredrik Claesson](https://www.nhl.com/player/fredrik-claesson-8476368?season=20172018)

Status report

Werenski's return could boost a power play that has been better recently, scoring a goal in five of the past seven games and going 5-for-23 during that span, but still is No. 31 in the NHL (11.8 percent). … Claesson is serving the first game of a two-game suspension from the NHL Department of Player Safety for an illegal check to the head of Boston Bruins forward Noel Acciari on Wednesday.

Stat pack

Panarin has five points (three goals, two assists) in a three-game point streak and has 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in his past 13 games. … Jones has six points (three goals, three assists) in a five-game point streak. … Brassard has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past four games.