Pittsburgh takes on Ottawa, aims for 6th straight home win

Ottawa Senators (11-19-2, seventh in the Atlantic) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (23-10-5, third in the Metropolitan)

Pittsburgh; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Pittsburgh hosts Ottawa looking to extend its five-game home winning streak.

The Penguins are 12-6-1 in conference play. Pittsburgh serves 6.6 penalty minutes per game, the least in the Eastern Conference. Marcus Pettersson leads them averaging 0.7.

The Senators are 6-9-1 in conference games. Ottawa is last in the NHL shooting 29.1 shots per game.

In their last meeting on Nov. 13, Ottawa won 6-3. Drake Batherson scored a team-high two goals for the Senators in the victory.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jake Guentzel leads the Penguins with 20 goals, adding 18 assists and recording 38 points. Kris Letang has 13 assists over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.

Batherson leads the Senators with 20 total assists and has 31 points. Josh Norris has six goals over the last 10 games for Ottawa.

LAST 10 GAMES: Penguins: 8-2-0, averaging four goals, 7.1 assists, 3.3 penalties and 7.6 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game with a .902 save percentage.

Senators: 5-4-1, averaging 3.2 goals, 4.7 assists, 4.3 penalties and 10.3 penalty minutes while allowing 2.8 goals per game with a .910 save percentage.

INJURIES: Penguins: Zachary Aston-Reese: out (health protocols), Danton Heinen: out (health protocols).

Senators: Dillon Heatherington: out (health protocols), Nikita Zaitsev: out (heel), Anton Forsberg: out (health protocols).

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