The Detroit Red Wings visit the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night in a matchup of teams beginning their final sprint for spots in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The Red Wings, looking to snap a nine-year playoff drought, are tied for second place in the Atlantic Division with the Montreal Canadiens but have played one more game. The Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins are two and three points behind Detroit, respectively.
The Senators sit fifth in the Eastern Conference wild-card race, six points behind the second-place Bruins.
Ottawa welcomes back forward Brady Tkachuk after the Canada residents rooted against him Sunday in the gold-medal game at the Olympics.
“They’re not the happiest with me right now,” Tkachuk said on Fox News after helping the United States defeat Canada for gold. “I’m just going to go back and give them everything that I’ve got. It’s a funny feeling when you feel their support every day, and then, within two weeks, you’re Public Enemy No. 1.
“I’m going back with a smile on my face, and I’m getting ready for a playoff push.”
Ottawa rolled into the Olympic break, winning five of six, but faces a tough road — literally — as play resumes. After hosting the Red Wings, Ottawa embarks on a five-game road trip with stops in Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Seattle and Vancouver.
After a full week of practice for those who did not go the Olympics, play resumes
“I think once Thursday comes, we’ll be ready,” Senators forward Nick Cousins told Sportsnet. “I think I can speak for the guys in the room. I think everybody’s kind of itching to get going here and play some games.”
“The guys are sick of practice,” he joked.
After returning from a leave of absence, goalie Linus Ullmark played two games before the break. He won both, stopping 40 of 43 shots. Ullmark is 9-2-2 with a 2.13 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage in 13 games versus the Red Wings.
The Senators have allowed just 11 goals over their past six games.
Detroit stumbled into the Olympic break, losing four of five (1-3-1) and scoring a total of seven goals, but remain in control of its post-season fate.
“You work all season to be in that spot, and now we’re in a great position to hopefully do some damage along the way,” Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider said following his return from the Olympics. “I think everyone is looking forward to it.”
Red Wings goalie John Gibson is 6-3-2 with a 2.20 GAA and .926 save percentage in 11 games against the Senators.
Olympian Lucas Raymond also returned to Detroit practice on Tuesday.
“You kind of get pumped up to get back, and I think that kind of brings it up a notch,” he said. “We’ve had a tough (couple of weeks) here, where maybe we haven’t been playing up to our standard.”
After a stop in Ottawa, the Red Wings travel to Carolina and Nashville.
It’s the third of four meetings between the Atlantic Division rivals. The Red Wings beat the host Senators 5-3 on Jan. 5 behind a goal and two assists from James van Riemsdyk. On Jan. 19, Alex DeBrincat scored 36 seconds into overtime to lift host Detroit to a 4-3 win.
The Red Wings are 10-4-2 against the Atlantic Division.
