Spence starts alongside Chabot for the first time, looking to build on recent success against a tough Dallas Stars squad.
DALLAS STARS (9-4-3) at OTTAWA SENATORS (8-5-3)
Faceoff: 7 pm at Canadian Tire Centre, TSN5, RDS2
Jordan Spence appears to have made a believer out of Senators head coach Travis Green... for the moment, anyway. Not only is Spence dressing on Tuesday night, which he's only done seven times this season, but he's paired with Thomas Chabot once again as the Senators host the Dallas Stars.
Midway through the 4-2 victory over the Utah Mammoth, and shortly after he scored his first goal as a Senator, Spence was moved up into the top four. He finished with over 20 minutes of ice time for the first time with Ottawa.
In short, Spence has replaced Nick Jensen, who finished the Utah game with a season low of 14:34 of ice. Jensen is coming off his resurfacing surgery back in May, and it remains to be seen if he can get his back up to where it was.
Last season, the veteran was credited for helping Chabot have one of his best seasons as a pro. Now, his status in that role moving forward is in question, so he'll roll out for now in the third-pairing with Tyler Kleven while Spence gets his first start in the four-hole.
The Opponent
The Stars come in with a record of 9-4-3 and a new head coach. Or should we say a new old coach? Glen Gulutzan is back for another go, 12 years after the Stars fired him from the same role. When most new coaches arrive, their predecessor hasn't left them with a tough act to follow, at least not recently.
But in the case of Gulutzan 2.0, he follows Pete DeBoer, the owner of the greatest career winning percentage in Dallas Stars history (.665). He also took his team to three Conference Finals in his three years with the club.
That Jim Nill is a tough guy to please.
One guy to watch on Tuesday is Mikko Rantanen, who leads the Stars with 21 points in 16 games, and has also been something of a Sens killer.
According to NHL.com, Rantanen is riding a five-game point streak against the Senators, earning 10 points (7-3—10) during that span. In all, he has 20 points (10-10—20) in 15 career games against Ottawa, with a plus-minus rating of +14.
Neither team has their rugged heart and soul captain in the lineup. While Brady Tkachuk has another month or so before he can return after wrist surgery, Jamie Benn is recovering from surgery for a collapsed lung suffered in a preseason game. Benn is getting close, though. He's now travelling with the club again and participated in an optional morning skate on Tuesday.
Former Senator Matt Duchene is also sidelined with an injury and won't play on Tuesday night (upper body).
Senators projected lineup (subject to change)
Senators projected lineup
David Perron -- Tim Stutzle -- Drake Batherson
Ridly Greig -- Dylan Cozens -- Fabian Zetterlund
Michael Amadio -- Shane Pinto -- Claude Giroux
Olle Lycksell -- Lars Eller -- Hayden Hodgson
Jake Sanderson -- Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot -- Jordan Spence
Tyler Kleven -- Nick Jensen
Linus Ullmark
Leevi Merilainen
Stars projected lineup (subject to change)
Sam Steel -- Wyatt Johnston -- Mikko Rantanen
Jason Robertson -- Roope Hintz -- Tyler Seguin
Oskar Back -- Justin Hyrckowian -- Colin Blackwell
Adam Erne -- Radek Faksa -- Maverick Bourque
Esa Lindell -- Miro Heiskanen
Thomas Harley -- Ilya Lyubuhskin
Lian Bichsel -- Alexander Petrovic
Jake Oettinger
Casey DeSmith