The set-up
The Sens (13-20-3) opened its four-game homestand with a dominant 5-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday.
Carolina (28-9-2) beat Vegas 4-3 in overtime Tuesday and have won four of their last five contests.
In nine games in January, Carolina has failed to score fewer than three goals on just two occasions as they average 4.56 goals per game this month. Since Jan. 13 though, Ottawa has averaged 3.43 goals per game themselves.
The Hurricanes 14 road wins this season are tied for the second most in the league while the Sens are 6-10-0 on home ice.
Carolina owns the fifth best power play in the league at 26.3 per cent and have power play goals in nine of its last 12 games. However, Ottawa has killed off 10 straight penalties, including five on Tuesday against Buffalo, and since Jan. 2, own the third best penalty killing unit in the league at 89.5 per cent. The Hurricanes own the best penalty kill in the league at 88.6 per cent.
The Sens are 4-4-2 against the Metropolitan Division this year while Carolina has won eight of its 11 games versus the Atlantic Division.
Roster notes
After losing Drake Batherson and Dylan Gambrell Tuesday, the Senators recalled Egor Sokolov from Belleville earlier today and he will enter the lineup tonight for his fifth career NHL game. Clark Bishop also looks in line to draw back in tonight for the Senators, too.
The Sens are still without Erik Brannstrom as he remains in the NHL's Covid-19 protocol while Connor Brown and Nikita Zaitsev skated this morning but are still unavailable.
Here is how the Sens lined up this morning:
Tkachuk - Norris - Sanford
Formenton - Stützle - Ennis
Sokolov - Tierney - Gaudette
Paul - Bishop - Watson
Chabot - Thomson
Holden -Zub
Mete - J. Brown
Heatherington - Zaitsev
Previous history
Tonight is the 83rd time the Sens and Hurricanes have squared off with Ottawa holding a 38-33-6 record with five ties.
In 41 games on home ice, the Senators have won 24 times.
Chris Tierney has five assists in six games against Carolina as a Senator and has one goal and 10 points in his career against the Canes.
When the two teams met on Dec. 2, Alex Formenton scored twice in a 3-2 win in Raleigh.
The Senators will also host Carolina Feb. 8 to conclude the season series.
Who to watch
Tyler Ennis recorded his second career hat-trick Tuesday and has four in his past two games.
In 31 games this year, Ennis has four goals and 16 points while his 12 assists are the sixth most on the team. The 32-year-old has averaged 12:15 a night this year.
Where to watch
Thursday's game can be seen live on TSN5 and RDS2 at 7 p.m. Fans can also tune into the radio call on TSN 1200 and Unique FM 94,5.
