Cousins joins Stützle and Batherson on the top line as the Senators shuffle their forward corps for a matchup against Washington.
The Ottawa Senators are coming off a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night, but they’ll ice a very different lineup Saturday in Washington (7 pm). Head coach Travis Green has made significant changes up front, moving Tim Stützle back to centre and promoting Nick Cousins to the top line alongside Stützle and Drake Batherson.
Beyond that, for those of you scoring at home, it’s hardly worth locking anything in. Green seems a little antsy with his lineup card right now, so it's a good bet you'll see plenty of movement before the night is through.
On the back end, Jordan Spence remains scratched for a third straight game after his late-game turnover against the Islanders last weekend. Linus Ullmark will start in goal, coming off a steady outing against Philadelphia.
Projected lineup – Ottawa Senators
Nick Cousins – Tim Stützle – Drake Batherson
Ridly Greig – Dylan Cozens – David Perron
Michael Amadio – Shane Pinto – Claude Giroux
Olle Lycksell – Lars Eller – Fabian Zetterlund
Jake Sanderson – Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot – Nick Jensen
Tyler Kleven – Nikolas Matinpalo
Linus Ullmark
Leevi Merilainen
Scratched: Jordan Spence
Injured: Brady Tkachuk (thumb surgery)
Projected lineup – Washington Capitals
Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Anthony Beauvillier
Aliaksei Protas – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Ryan Leonard
Hendrix Lapierre – Connor McMichael – Tom Wilson
Brandon Duhaime – Nic Dowd – Justin Sourdif
Martin Fehervary – John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun – Matt Roy
Declan Chisholm – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Charlie Lindgren
Logan Thompson
Scratched: Dylan McIlrath, Sonny Milano
Injured: Rasmus Sandin (upper body)
Game Notes
Senators captain Brady Tkachuk joined the team for morning skate in a non-contact jersey — his first time on the ice with the group since undergoing thumb surgery on Oct. 16. The Capitals, who beat Columbus 5-1 on Friday, did not hold a morning skate. Pierre-Luc Dubois returns from injured reserve after missing five games with a lower-body injury, while Rasmus Sandin remains out for a second straight game.
Jordan Spence is expected to sit out a third straight game since his last-minute giveaway last Saturday resulted in the winning goal in a loss to the Islanders. Despite his point-per-game pace (4 assists), Spence has only played half of Ottawa's games.
Fabian Zetterlund is still looking to snap out of his Ottawa funk. He has just one assist in 8 games and starts on the fourth line again. Zetterlund had just nine shifts in Thursday's win over the Flyers.
It'll be a homecoming on Saturday for former Capitals Nick Jensen and Lars Eller.
For Washington, it's a special night for Alex Ovechkin, who will be honoured for playing in his 1500th game. If he scores tonight, he'll be the first man in NHL history to score 900 goals.
More Sens headlines at the Hockey News Ottawa:
Giroux After Win Over Flyers: 'It's Just Another Step, We Still Have A Lot Of Work To Do'
Jordan Spence Reflects On Saturday's Mistake And His Team's Support
What’s Going On With Chabot and Jensen In Ottawa? The Early Numbers Aren’t Pretty
Senators Captain Brady Tkachuk Reveals Thumb Ligament Was Fully Torn
Senators Walk The Early Season Fine Line Between Disaster And Success
Tkachuk Has Successful Thumb Surgery And Will Miss 6-8 Weeks