Senators Look To Bounce Back In Los Angeles As Johansson Gets Third Straight Start

The Senators will look to get their five-game road trip back on track on Thursday night when they face the Los Angeles Kings.

They opened their trip with a 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, a game where they generated a pile of scoring chances.

The Sens outshot Vegas 11-4 in the opening period and had several excellent opportunities to take control of the game. But the Golden Knights eventually broke a 1-1 tie midway through the third period and pulled away for the victory, sealed by two empty net goals.

The Senators enter Thursday's game with an 8-5-0 record, good for second place in the Atlantic. The Kings have struggled at 3-6-2, and the Sens would prefer not to hand them their first home win of the year.

Johansson Gets Third Straight Start

With Linus Ullmark still out with a lower body thing, Jonas Johansson will make his third consecutive start in goal for the Senators. Johansson was recalled from the Belleville Senators just seven days ago, and appears to have quickly displaced Sam Ersson on the depth chart. 

Johansson made his Sens debut in Saturday's 7-4 victory over the New York Rangers before getting another start against Vegas on Tuesday. He'll now get another opportunity to strengthen his grip on the backup role as Ullmark continues to recover.

Chabot and Hodgson In, Foegele Out

For the first time all season, it'll be all hands on deck on the Sens' blue line. Thomas Chabot will return to the lineup after missing time with an injury. Chabot skated alongside Jordan Spence at Thursday's morning skate, while Jake Sanderson was paired with Artem Zub. Tyler Kleven and Nikolas Matinpalo formed the third pairing.

Chabot's return means Carter Yakemchuk sits out.

"Anytime you can get back to full health, it's a good thing for our group,' head coach Travis Green told the Senators website. "Obviously, Chabby is a big part of our team. It's not an easy decision on who to play tonight. We've got seven guys that we like a lot. LA is a big, strong team. They're heavy in front of the net, so we kind of based our decision on that."

Up front, the Senators will be without Warren Foegele, who suffered a lower-body injury during Tuesday's loss in Vegas. Green says Foegele is expected to be sidelined for an extended period, which means Hayden Hodgson will draw into the lineup.

Hodgson, who spent the 2023-24 season in the Kings organization, skated on the fourth line alongside Stephen Halliday and Nick Cousins.

The Senators have been a solid bounce back team this season. Despite five losses through their first 13 games, they have yet to lose consecutive contests.

Projected Senators Lineup

Forwards

Zetterlund – Stützle – Giroux
Burakovsky – Cozens – Batherson
Greig – Pinto – Amadio
Hodgson – Halliday – Cousins

Defence

Sanderson – Zub
Chabot – Spence
Kleven – Matinpalo

Goaltenders

Johansson (starter)
Ersson

And Another Thing...

The Kings defeated the Senators 2-1 in their most recent meeting.

The Sens are 3-3-0 on the road this season, while the Kings are still searching for their first home win.

Thursday's game is the second stop on a five-game road trip for the Senators.

Game time: 10 p.m. ET
Venue: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles
Television: TSN5

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa

Senators Lose Another Player To A Waiver Claim