Atlantic race, wild-card watch in spotlight as Senators host Lightning

The Ottawa Senators host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night in a game that will have implications on the race for the Atlantic Division title and wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference.

The Senators (39-29-6, 84 points) currently hold the first wild-card spot in the East, five points ahead of the Montreal Canadiens (35-30-9, 79 points) who are in action tonight against the last-place Boston Bruins.

Both Canadian teams have eight games remaining on the schedule and the Senators hope to keep the Habs at bay with a win tonight against the Lightning. The two will play each other next Friday in a game that could have huge implications on playoff positioning.

“The standings are so tight you want to clinch your spot as soon as you can,” Sens forward Drake Batherson said Wednesday. “We want to win as many games as we can. It’s a big opponent [Thursday], and a few others are coming into town, so it’s going to be exciting games and we’re looking forward to that.”

The Senators are looking to bounce back after losing 5-2 to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. Ottawa was swept by the Sabres this season and were outscored 17-5 across the four-game season series.

They were without Brady Tkachuk against Buffalo as he was sidelined with an upper-body injury he sustained on a hit from Ryan Graves in Sunday’s 1-0 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tkachuk will be out once again Thursday, head coach Travis Green stating the captain is out day-to-day.

The Sens have gone 0-3 without Tkachuk this season, but centre Tim Stutzle believes the team is good enough to win without their captain.

“He’s a huge part of the team, he’s the captain and he’s a great player,” Stutzle said. “We miss him out there, but I think we have a good enough team to win without him. But, with him, it’s a big boost.”

Ottawa is 1-2 against the Lightning this season but have lost the last two meetings by a combined score of 9-4.

“I mean, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who you play,” said Sens forward Claude Giroux, following the loss to Buffalo. “You want to play the right way and give yourself a chance to win. Any time you left some points on the table it’s definitely disappointing.”

The Lightning  (44-25-5, 93 points) are in a heated playoff chase of their own and can pull within one point of the Toronto Maple Leafs for first in the Atlantic Division with a win tonight. The teams will go head-to-head next Wednesday for the final time this season.

The Leafs beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Wednesday to take sole possession of first in the division.