Senators at Blue Jackets preview

SENATORS (21-30-11) at BLUE JACKETS (30-19-14)
7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, FS-O, TSN5, RDS, NHL.TV

Korpisalo, who was recalled from his conditioning assignment with Cleveland of the American Hockey League on Sunday, hasn't played since injuring his knee against the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 29.
Columbus is 0-3-5 in its past eight games and is tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
Senators forward Bobby Ryan is also expected to play for the first time since entering the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program Nov. 20. He has four points (one goal, three assists) in 16 games this season.
Ottawa, which has been outscored 8-1 in consecutive losses, will be without center Jean-Gabriel Pageau (New York Islanders) and forwards Vladislav Namestnikov (Colorado Avalanche) and Tyler Ennis (Edmonton Oilers) after each was traded earlier Monday prior to the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline.

Players to watch

Senators forward Brady Tkachuk has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past six games.
Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski has eight points (four goals, four assists) in 10 games against the Senators.

They said it

"I know my wife will be excited. I kind of wish it was at home, but with the situation, it is what it is. I'm just excited to be back and competing."-- Senators forward Bobby Ryan on possibly playing
"We want to find a way to get two points. We've had lot of close games, overtime games, lately. We need to bear down and get that extra [point]." -- Blue Jackets forward Boone Jenner

Senators projected lineup

Brady Tkachuk -- Bobby Ryan -- Anthony Duclair
Artem Anisimov -- Chris Tierney -- Connor Brown
Nicholas Paul -- Colin White -- Matthew Peca
Rudolfs Balcers -- Mikkel Boedker -- Jayce Hawryluk
Thomas Chabot -- Ron Hainsey
Mike Reilly -- Nikita Zaitsev
Andreas Englund -- Christian Jaros
Marcus Hogberg
Craig Anderson
Scratched:Scott Sabourin
Injured:Anders Nilsson (concussion), Mark Borowiecki (high ankle sprain)

Blue Jackets projected lineup

Gustav Nyquist -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Nick Foligno
Stefan Matteau -- Boone Jenner -- Nathan Gerbe
Calvin Thurkauf -- Kevin Stenlund -- Emil Bemstrom
Eric Robinson -- Riley Nash -- Jakob Lilja
Zach Werenski -- Markus Nutivaara
Vladislav Gavrikov -- David Savard
Scott Harrington -- Andrew Peeke
Joonas Korpisalo
Elvis Merzlikins
Scratched:Gabriel Carlsson
Injured:Brandon Dubinsky (wrist), Josh Anderson (shoulder), Ryan Murray (lower body), Alexandre Texier (back), Dean Kukan (knee), Alex Wennberg (upper body), Seth Jones (ankle), Cam Atkinson (ankle), Oliver Bjorkstrand (ankle)

Status report

The Blue Jackets traded forward Sonny Milano to the Anaheim Ducks for forward
Devin Shore
on Monday. Thurkauf was recalled from Cleveland on an emergency basis to take Milano's spot in the lineup. … Goalie Matiss Kivlenieks was reassigned by Columbus to Cleveland on Sunday. … Peca was acquired by Ottawa in a trade from the Montreal Canadiens for forward Aaron Luchuk and a seventh-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. ... Balcers was recalled from Belleville of the AHL. ... The Senators have informed the NHL that they may start the game short because Balcers and Peca are both delayed getting into Columbus, but they will each be in the lineup as soon as they arrive.

Stat pack

Columbus went 13-5-6 without Korpisalo. … Duclair has scored one goal in his past 24 games.