Preview: Senators at Penguins

SENATORS (15-8-2) at PENGUINS (15-7-3)
7 p.m. ET; ROOT, RDS2, TSN5, NHL.TV

Senators team scope

Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson will start after taking a leave of absence to be with his wife, who began cancer treatment Nov. 30. Anderson is 12-5-1 with a 2.20 goals-against average and .930 save percentage in 18 games. Coach Guy Boucher said the rest of his lineup would be the same he used in a 2-0 defeat of the Floirda Panthers at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday. The Senators are trending in a positive direction. They are 5-1-1 in their past seven games, and are 6-3-0 on the road. Boucher said he thinks the Senators' upcoming three-game road trip could be beneficial after playing five of their past six games at home. "If you ask my wife, maybe not," Boucher said. "But I think there's something about road trips that brings teams together. But if you lose all your games on a road trip, your positives fade away. I think we've had success on the road. Our guys have been really focused and up for the challenge." Forward Mike Hoffman has played a large role in the Senators' recent success with four goals and seven points during a four-game point streak. His 18 points in 23 games are two points behind defenseman Erik Karlsson for the Senators lead.

Penguins team scope

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will start a third consecutive game for the first time since goalie Matt Murray returned from a broken hand Nov. 2. Fleury has won his past two starts while stopping 61 of 66 shots. "[The decision to start Fleury a third straight game] has been impacted by his performance," coach Mike Sullivan said. "We feel as though he's had a couple of strong games in a row and we're hoping he can continue to play at that level for us." Though Fleury will remain in net, the Penguins' lineup could look slightly different from their 5-3 defeat of the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. Forward Chris Kunitz, who returned from a lower-body injury to join center Evgeni Malkin and right wing Phil Kessel on Saturday, skated at left wing with center Nick Bonino and right wing Bryan Rust during the morning skate Monday. Carl Hagelin replaced Kunitz at left wing on Malkin's line. The Penguins defense has been adjusted lately with defenseman Brian Dumoulin moving into Olli Maatta's spot alongside Kris Letang. Maatta has been paired with Trevor Daley. The Penguins will look to sweep their three-game homestand before going on the road for two games. Five of the Penguins' wins have come after trailing entering the third period. Since hiring Sullivan on Dec. 12, 2015, 12 of their 48 wins have been comebacks from a two-goal deficit, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Senators projected lineup

Mike Hoffman -- Derick Brassard -- Mark Stone
Ryan Dzingel -- Kyle Turris -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau
Zack Smith -- Chris Kelly -- Tom Pyatt
Buddy Robinson -- Curtis Lazar -- Chris Neil
Cody Ceci -- Erik Karlsson
Mark Borowiecki -- Chris Wideman
Dion Phaneuf -- Andreas Englund
Craig Anderson
Mike Condon
Scratched:None
Injured:Clarke MacArthur (concussion), Bobby Ryan (hand), Marc Methot (lower body), Frederik Claesson (lower body)

Penguins projected lineup

Conor Sheary -- Sidney Crosby -- Patric Hornqvist
Carl Hagelin -- Evgeni Malkin -- Phil Kessel
Chris Kunitz -- Nick Bonino -- Bryan Rust
Scott Wilson -- Matt Cullen -- Eric Fehr
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Olli Maatta -- Trevor Daley
Ian Cole -- Justin Schultz
Marc-Andre Fleury
Matt Murray
Scratched:Steve Oleksy, Jake Guentzel, Tom Kuhnhackl
Injured: Derrick Pouliot (lower body)

Status report

The Senators reassigned goalie Andrew Hammond to Binghamton of the American Hockey League on Sunday. Hammond is 0-1-0 with a 4.50 GAA and .793 save percentage in two NHL starts this season. … Pouliot skated on a fourth defense pairing with Oleksy on Monday.

Who's hot

Karlsson scored the game-deciding goal against the Panthers on Saturday. He leads the Senators with 20 points. … Kessel scored twice Saturday to bring his goal total to eight in 25 games. He is third on the Penguins in points (24) and is tied with Malkin for the lead in assists (16).