Senators at Penguins preview

Malkin is day to day because of an upper-body injury, and also will not play against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.

The Penguins could have forwards Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann in the lineup. They were acquired in a trade with the Florida Panthers for forwards Derick Brassard and Riley Sheahan, a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and two fourth-round picks in the 2019 draft.

The Penguins won 4-2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday but are 2-4-0 in six games since winning 10 of their previous 11 (10-1-0).

The Senators have lost two straight after winning four of their previous five (4-1-0). It's Ottawa's first game since its mandatory five-day break after the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend.

Ottawa won its first two games against Pittsburgh this season, outscoring the Penguins 8-5 in two wins at Canadian Tire Centre.

Players to watch

Senators forward Matt Duchene has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his past eight games.

Penguins defenseman Kris Letang has 108 goals, one from passing Paul Coffey for most all-time by a Penguins defenseman.

They said it

"I think the first five, 10 minutes are going to be crucial for us to just simplify as best as we can and just kind of weather the storm." -- Senators forward Mark Stone

"I think the good teams are the ones that are able to [perform well] consistently. If we want to be consistent, that's the kind of effort we're going to need every night." -- Penguins forward Sidney Crosby

Senators projected lineup

Ryan Dzingel -- Matt Duchene -- Bobby Ryan

Brady Tkachuk -- Colin White -- Mark Stone

Zack Smith -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Magnus Paajarvi

Nick Paul -- Chris Tierney -- Mikkel Boedker

Thomas Chabot -- Dylan DeMelo

Maxime Lajoie -- Cody Ceci

Mark Borowiecki -- Christian Jaros

Anders Nilsson

Craig Anderson

Scratched: None

Injured: Mike Condon (hip), Ben Harpur (upper body)

Penguins projected lineup

Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Dominik Simon

Bryan Rust -- Nick Bjugstad -- Phil Kessel

Tanner Pearson -- Jared McCann -- Patric Hornqvist

Matt Cullen -- Teddy Blueger -- Garrett Wilson

Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang

Olli Maatta -- Juuso Riikola

Marcus Pettersson -- Jack Johnson

Casey DeSmith

Matt Murray

Scratched: Chad Ruhwedel

Injured: Justin Schultz (left leg fracture), Zach Aston-Reese (upper body), Evgeni Malkin (upper body)

Status report

White is expected to play after missing five games with a shoulder injury. ... With Bjugstad and McCann playing, Ruhwedel will be scratched.

Stat pack

Stone needs one point for 300 in the NHL. ... Guentzel has 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in his past 11 games