The Ottawa Senators are set to face off against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night for Game 2 of the first round. The Senators will be looking to bounce back from their tough start to the series, as they fell to the Hurricanes by a 2-0 final score in Game 1.
This is undoubtedly a must-win contest for the Senators. If they pick up a victory in Game 2, they would heading back home to Ottawa tied in the series. Yet, a loss would put them down 2-0 and significantly hurt their chances of advancing to the second round.
While speaking to reporters, Senators head coach Travis Green shared that top right-shot defenseman Artem Zub is a game-time decision. This comes after the 30-year-old blueliner was limited to just 7:44 of ice time in Game 1 following exiting with a lower-body injury.
If Zub is unable to go, the Senators would likely put depth defenseman Lassi Thompson in the lineup. The 2019 first-round pick played in 11 games this season with the Senators, posting three assists and a plus-3 rating.
With Zub being one of the Senators' best defensemen, it would undoubtedly be bad news if he is not good to go for a crucial Game 2.
The Senators also shared that the defenseman Tyler Kleven will once again be out for Game 2 due to an upper-body injury. The 24-year-old defenseman has not played for the Senators since April 2 against the Buffalo Sabres.
Here is the Senators' full projected lineup for their Game 2 contest against the Hurricanes.
Senators' full projected lineup for Game 2 vs. Hurricanes
Senators' Forward Lines
Drake Batherson - Tim Stutzle - Claude Giroux
Brady Tkachuk - Dylan Cozens - Ridly Greig
Nick Cousins - Shane Pinto - Michael Amadio
Warren Foegele - Lars Eller - Fabian Zetterlund
Senators' Defense Pairings
Jake Sanderson - Nikolas Matinpalo
Thomas Chabot - Jordan Spence
Dennis Gilbert - Lassi Thompson
Senators' Starting Goalie
Linus Ullmark
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