Just one point separates the Senators and Penguins as they clash on Thursday at Canadian Tire Centre.
The banged-up Ottawa Senators are back in action on Thursday night, hosting Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins (7 pm).
For the first time since November, the Sens will enter play on Thursday night with a new status and mindset within the Conference. Thanks to their recent 15-3-2 run, including their win on Tuesday in Detroit, the Senators finally moved into a playoff spot in the East.
That means, for the first time in four months, they've got something to lose.
Their goal now is not just to stay in the playoff picture, but also to create a little breathing room for themselves. They have four Eastern teams in front of them: Boston, Montreal, Columbus and Pittsburgh, and all of them are within three points.
The Penguins are the closest to them, just one point ahead, which adds a sweet layer of intrigue to Thursday night's game.
The Sens will roll out the same inexperienced blue line they did on Tuesday. That includes Jorian Donovan, who made his NHL debut in Detroit, but this one might even mean a little more.
Donovan grew up here as his father, Shean, played for the Senators for three seasons. So Jorian grew up watching his dad play NHL games at the CTC, and his favourite player was Shean's teammate, Erik Karlsson. The two of them played together in Shean's final season and Karlsson's rookie season.
Now, to bring things full circle, Donovan will make his home debut facing Karlsson and the Penguins.
"I'm extremely excited to be at home," Donovan told the media. "I mean, I've grown up here, been in this barn quite a few times, whether it was when I was ten years old with my shirt off in the stands, trying to get on the jumbotron, or just being in the room with my dad or something like that. So I'm excited to be here."
This won't actually be his first time skating on the same ice as Karlsson.
"I've been able to skate with him a couple times in the summers. But yeah, he was always my favourite player growing up. So it's pretty cool to be able to play against him."
Senators projected lineup
Drake Batherson -- Tim Stutzle -- Claude Giroux
Brady Tkachuk -- Dylan Cozens -- Ridly Greig
Nick Cousins -- Shane Pinto -- Michael Amadio
Warren Foegele -- Lars Eller -- Fabian Zetterlund
Tyler Kleven -- Artem Zub
Jordan Spence -- Nikolas Matinpalo
Jorian Donovan -- Carter Yakemchuk
Linus Ullmark
James Reimer
Scratched: Stephen Halliday, Kurtis MacDermid
Injured: Jake Sanderson (upper body), Nick Jensen (lower body), Dennis Gilbert (upper body), Thomas Chabot (upper body), Lassi Thomson (undisclosed)
Penguins projected lineup
Rickard Rakell -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust
Egor Chinakhov -- Tommy Novak -- Anthony Mantha
Ville Koivunen -- Ben Kindel -- Justin Brazeau
Elmer Soderblom -- Connor Dewar -- Noel Acciari
Parker Wotherspoon -- Erik Karlsson
Samuel Girard -- Kris Letang
Ryan Shea -- Connor Clifton
Stuart Skinner
Arturs Silovs
Scratched: Ilya Solovyov, Ryan Graves
Injured: Evgeni Malkin (upper body), Caleb Jones (lower body), Kevin Hayes (upper body), Filip Hallander (blood clot), Blake Lizotte (upper body), Jack St. Ivany (upper body)
Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This article was first published at The Hockey News Ottawa. Check out more great Sens features from The Hockey News at the links below:
Road To The Playoffs: Wait... Are the Senators Really Doing This?
Injury-Ravaged Senators Bring Up Top Prospect For Battle With Red Wings
Senators Lose Two More Defensemen To Injury
Former Senator Mika Zibanejad Faces Ottawa In 1000th NHL Game
Five Years Later, Stützle Still Puzzled By Senators' Decision To Let Amadio Get Away
'I Just Needed to Get Some Anger Out': Tkachuk Delivers Statement Game