Hoffman, who had a couple giveaways on the power play against the Maple Leafs, said he knows when he is at his best.
"Obviously playing with my speed and having confidence [to make] plays with the puck, and putting pucks in the net," Hoffman said.
The Senators and Hurricanes, each with 69 points, will continue their late-season push toward the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Each team remains outside of playoff position in the Eastern Conference, six points behind the Detroit Red Wings, who occupy the second wild card position.
Scott Gomez will play his fourth game with the Senators after signing a one-year contract on March 2. The 36-year-old center played 21 games with the St. Louis Blues earlier in the season and, more recently, 18 with Hershey of the American Hockey League. He said he is close to playing at NHL game speed.
"It's getting around that time when it should be full go," Gomez said. "Once you get out there, it's an NHL game and your instincts have got to take over. As long as the legs are going, that's the important part."
Carolina will have one new face in the lineup. Forward Brendan Woods, who has 15 points in 48 games in Charlotte this season, will get his second look in the NHL. He played two games with the Hurricanes last season.
Coach Bill Peters has indicated the Hurricanes will look at other players from the AHL, but he is careful to point out he is still focused on competing for the playoffs.
"What we will find out from now until the end of the year is who really fits and who has the right DNA to stay here over time and who doesn't," Peters said. "That's what we're doing. We're evaluating as we go and we're trying to win hockey games at the same time. We expect to be able to continue to do that."
Here are the projected lineups:
SENATORS
Zack Smith - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Mark Stone
Nick Paul - Mika Zibanejad - Alex Chiasson
Ryan Dzingel - Scott Gomez - Bobby Ryan
Mike Hoffman - Curtis Lazar - Chris Neil
Marc Methot - Erik Karlsson
Dion Phaneuf - Cody Ceci
Michael Kostka - Chris Wideman
Andrew Hammond
Chris Driedger
Scratches: Patrick Wiercioch, Matt Puempel
Injuries: Mark Borowiecki (knee), Chris Phillips (back), Clarke MacArthur (concussion), Kyle Turris (ankle), Craig Anderson (lower body)
HURRICANES
Joakim Nordstrom - Jordan Staal - Elias Lindholm
Jeff Skinner - Victor Rask - Phillip Di Giuseppe
Nathan Gerbe - Riley Nash - Brad Malone
Brendan Woods - Jay McClement - Chris Terry
Jaccob Slavin - Ron Hainsey
Noah Hanifin - Brett Pesce
Michal Jordan - Ryan Murphy
Cam Ward
Eddie Lack
Injuries: James Wisniewski (knee), Andrej Nestrasil (back)
Scratches: None
Status report: Hurricanes forwards Brock McGinn and Derek Ryan were returned to Charlotte. … Anderson will not dress against Carolina. He hopes to be ready to face the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
Who's hot: Methot and Smith each have two goals in the past three games. … Rask and Skinner each had a goal and an assist in a 4-3 overtime loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
