The Ottawa Senators began a four-game homestand in winning fashion on Sunday, defeating the Utah Mammoth 4-2. They’ll face another Western Conference opponent — the second of three on the homestand — on Tuesday night, when the Dallas Stars come to town.
Despite a negative goal differential, Dallas enters play with the third-best record in the West (9-4-3) and holds a record of 6-1-3 in their last 10 games — identical to the Senators’ record in their last 10.
“Playing a good team tonight, obviously Dallas has been a team that’s been favoured to go far, have a chance to win a Cup for a while now,” said Travis Green. “They’re no different this year. They’re a good road team; we’re going to have to be on top of our game.”
There will be no lineup changes for the Senators coming off that win to Utah, which means Hayden Hodgson will make his second straight appearance on the fourth line after being called up from Belleville.
“Just play hard. Just play hard every single night, and do whatever I can to bring some energy to this group and to this lineup,” said Hodgson of his simple approach to joining the lineup.
It’s an approach that general manager Steve Staios said was effective after Sunday’s win when he met the media on Monday morning.
“It’s pretty clear,” said Hodgson about the messaging he’s received since being called up and inserted into the lineup. “I think Greener knows what I bring, and what he expects and what he wants, so it makes it pretty easy for me just to bring my energy every single game.”
