Senators at Canucks preview

SENATORS (25-41-6) at CANUCKS (31-32-10)
10 p.m. ET; SNP, TSN5, RDS, NHL.TV

Vancouver is six points behind the Arizona Coyotes for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the West with nine games left in their regular season.
The Canucks, who are starting a seven-game home stand, are 3-0-1 in their past four games and can match their longest winning streak of the season with a third straight victory.
Ottawa is 3-10-1 in the past 14 games but coming off wins against the Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues. The Senators, who are eliminated from playoff contention, can also match their season high with a third straight victory.

Players to watch

Senators starting goalie Anders Nilsson is 10-9-0 with a .917 save percentage since being traded to Ottawa on Jan. 2. He was 3-8-1 with a .895 save percentage with the Canucks this season.
Canucks forward Brock Boeser has eight points (two goals, six assists) during a seven-game point streak.

They said it

"Pretty much ever since I got traded to Ottawa I felt like I found my game and I have also been getting the opportunity to play some games consistent and I have been getting confidence from my teammates and the coaching staff."-- Senators goalie Anders Nilsson
"All season long the (Western Conference) has kind of been open or a pretty tight race and when we lost a couple games people counted us out but mathematically we're still in it and when we come to the rink we play hard for each other." -- Canucks defenseman Troy Stecher

Senators projected lineup

Brady Tkachuk -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Max Veronneau
Rudolfs Balcers -- Chris Tierney -- Magnus Paajarvi
Zack Smith -- Oscar Lindberg -- Bobby Ryan
Anthony Duclair -- Brian Gibbons -- Mikkel Boedker
Ben Harpur -- Dylan DeMelo
Christian Wolanin -- Cody Ceci
Mark Borowiecki -- Christian Jaros
Anders Nilsson
Craig Anderson
Scratched:None
Injured:Thomas Chabot (broken toe), Colin White (neck)

Canucks projected lineup

Josh Leivo -- Elias Pettersson -- Brock Boeser
Tanner Pearson -- Bo Horvat -- Loui Eriksson
Markus Granlund -- Adam Gaudette -- Jake Virtanen
Tim Schaller -- Jay Beagle -- Tyler Motte
Alexander Edler -- Alex Biega
Guillaume Brisebois -- Troy Stecher
Ashton Sautner -- Luke Schenn
Jacob Markstrom
Thatcher Demko
Scratched: Nikolay Goldobin, Derrick Pouliot
Injured:Chris Tanev (undisclosed), Antoine Roussel (knee), Quinn Hughes (ankle), Ben Hutton (foot), Ryan Spooner (groin), Brandon Sutter (lower body), Sven Baertschi (concussion)

Status report

Ceci left the morning skate early but coach Marc Crawford said it was a "maintenance issue" and expects him to play. … Chabot, who has missed two games, is expected to rejoin the Senators on a three-game road trip and could play Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers. … White is not on the trip. … Canucks coach Travis Green said Hutton, who will miss his eighth game, will resume skating in the next couple of days, and Hughes, who hasn't skated since signing his entry-level contract March 10, will be re-evaluated later Wednesday.

Stat pack

Tierney has four points (two goals, two assists) in a four-game point streak. … Pettersson has one goal and two assists in a three-game point streak after no goals and five assists in his previous 11 games. … Horvat has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past five games after no points the previous five.