James Reimer faces his former team as Ottawa rides a four-game win streak.
The last time the Ottawa Senators lost a hockey game was at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes in a 4–1 loss at home on January 24.
Since then, the Senators have looked like a different team, rattling off four straight wins. On Tuesday night, they’ll get another crack at the 'Canes, this time on the road in Raleigh.
Ottawa’s historical record in Carolina isn’t great, but they did win their most recent visit there in December of 2024, when Linus Ullmark stopped 32 shots in a 3–0 shutout.
Ullmark has been excellent in his first two games since returning from a personal leave of absence that began on December 27. He has allowed just three goals over those two starts, including Monday night’s 3–2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, which extended Ottawa’s winning streak to four games. But with this being a back-to-back, Ullmark is expected to sit this one out.
The Senators have played well in back-to-backs this season, posting a 5-2-1 record in the second game.
James Reimer will get the start for Ottawa in a building he knows well. Reimer spent two seasons with the Hurricanes during the 2019–20 and 2020–21 campaigns and has looked steady in limited action this year. At this point, he has proven to be a more reliable option than rookie Leevi Meriläinen.
The Hurricanes are expected to start Brandon Bussi, who was claimed off waivers in October. And why not? Bussi earned the 4-1 win against Ottawa in the teams’ previous meeting.
Carolina enters Tuesday’s matchup following a 3–2 OT win over the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday. Overall, the 'Canes are riding an eight-game point streak and hold a 6-1-3 record over their last 10 games.
The Senators are 6-2-2 over the same stretch. During their current four-game winning streak, the Senators have outscored their opponents 19–6, marking the first time this season they’ve put together four consecutive regulation wins.
Ottawa did not hold a morning skate following Monday night’s game, while Carolina is expected to go with the same lineup that earned the win on Sunday.
With the Senators playing some of their best hockey of the season, head coach Travis Green has opted to keep his lineup intact. Here’s how he and Rob Brind'Amour are expected to deploy their chess pieces Tuesday night:
SENATORS (27-21-7) at HURRICANES (34-15-6)
7 p.m. TSN5, RDS
Senators Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Drake Batherson — Tim Stützle — Claude Giroux
Brady Tkachuk — Dylan Cozens — Ridly Greig
Nick Cousins — Shane Pinto — Michael Amadio
Stephen Halliday — Lars Eller — Fabian Zetterlund
Jake Sanderson — Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot — Nick Jensen
Tyler Kleven — Jordan Spence
James Reimer
Linus Ullmark
Scratched: Kurtis MacDermid, Nikolas Matinpalo
Injured: David Perron (sports hernia)
Hurricanes Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho — Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall — Logan Stankoven — Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers — Jordan Staal — Jordan Martinook
William Carrier — Mark Jankowski — Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Jaccob Slavin — Jalen Chatfield
K’Andre Miller — Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere — Alexander Nikishin
Brandon Bussi
Frederik Andersen
Scratched: Mike Reilly
Injured: Pyotr Kochetkov (lower body), Eric Robinson (upper body)
Steve Warne
The Hockey News