Currently: - Game info: 7:30 pm EST Sun Mar 16, 2003
- TV: CHRO, FSD
DETROIT (TICKER) —It could be a preview of the Stanley Cup Finals Sunday night when the Eastern Conference-leading Ottawa Senators visit the red-hot Detroit Red Wings.
Ottawa, which never has advanced past the Eastern Conference semifinals, leads the East with 98 points, which is three in front of Dallas in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy.
The Senators are 13-5-1 in their last 19 games and can become the first team to 100 points. They had a season-high five-game winning streak snapped with a 5-2 home loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday.
New acquisition Bryan Smolinski scored and Marian Hossa netted his 41st goal for Ottawa. Hossa is three goals shy of tying Alexei Yashin’s club record.
Detroit is 14-1-0-1 in its last 16 games and leads St. Louis by five points in the Central Division. The Red Wings also trail Dallas by one point for first place in the Western Conference and hold a one-point edge over Vancouver.
Detroit extended its home winning streak to seven games with Saturday’s 5-3 victory over rival Colorado. Brett Hull scored his 709th goal, moving past Mike Gartner into fifth place on the all-time list.
Pavel Datsyuk, Brendan Shanahan, Igor Larionov and Sergei Fedorov also tallied for Detroit, which has reached at least 40 wins for six straight seasons.
The Senators took the first meeting, posting a 5-2 home win on November 2 as they beat their former playoff nemesis - Curtis Joseph - with five goals on 34 shots.
The Red Wings have won the last two meetings in Detroit since a 2-0 loss on January 2, 1999.
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