Senators at Lightning preview

SENATORS (14-18-2) at LIGHTNING (16-12-3)
7 p.m. ET; SUN, TSN5, RDS, NHL.TV

Kucherov, the 2019 Hart Trophy winner voted as NHL most valuable player, is day to day with a lower-body injury after the forward blocked a shot from Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson on Saturday. He did not practice Monday, but participated in an optional morning skate Tuesday. Kucherov leads Tampa Bay with 34 points (10 goals, 24 assists) this season.
The Lightning have won two of their past three games, but are 4-5-1 in their past 10.
Ottawa had its three-game point streak (1-1-1) end Monday in a 6-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. The Senators are 3-2-1 in their past six games after losing their previous five.

Players to Watch

Senators forward Anthony Duclair has 10 points (eight goals, two assists) in his past seven games.
Lightning forward Alex Killorn has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his past seven games.

They said it

"The game plan is simple. You have to be able to defend their top guys or it'll be a long night." -- Senators coach D.J. Smith on the Lightning
"[Ottawa] always plays hard. They are a young team and they have a have a lot of speed. They are going to work hard and we just have to match it." -- Lightning forward Ondrej Palat

Senators projected lineup

Brady Tkachuk -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Connor Brown
Tyler Ennis -- Artem Anisimov -- Colin White
Vladislav Namestnikov -- Chris Tierney -- Anthony Duclair
Nicholas Paul -- Logan Brown -- J.C. Beaudin
Thomas Chabot -- Ron Hainsey
Mark Borowiecki -- Andreas Englund
Cody Goloubef -- Max Lajoie
Marcus Hogberg
Anders Nilsson
Scratched: Mikkel Boedker, Erik Brannstrom
Injured: Scott Sabourin (nose), Craig Anderson (knee), Dylan DeMelo (finger), Nikita Zaitsev (lower body)

Lightning projected lineup

Ondrej Palat -- Brayden Point -- Tyler Johnson
Alex Killorn -- Anthony Cirelli -- Steven Stamkos
Pat Maroon -- Cedric Paquette -- Yanni Gourde
Carter Verhaeghe --
Mitchell Stephens
-- Mathieu Joseph
Victor Hedman -- Jan Rutta
Ryan McDonagh -- Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev -- Kevin Shattenkirk
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Curtis McElhinney
Injured: Nikita Kucherov (lower body), Braydon Coburn (lower body)
Scratched: Luke Schenn

Status report

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Kucherov's status might not be known until warmups. If he plays, Stephens is likely to be scratched. ... Johnson is expected to play after missing the past four games with a lower-body injury. ... Englund is expected to play in place of Zaitsev for the second consecutive game.

Stat pack

Chabot has a point in six of his past eight games (six assists). ... Ennis has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past seven games. ... Stamkos has nine points (six goals, three assists) in his past seven games. .... Point has scored in seven of his past 13 games (eight goals).