Two teams at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings take the ice when the 13th-place Ottawa Senators (18-14-5) host the 16th-place Columbus Blue Jackets (16-15-6) at Canadian Tire Centre on Monday at 7 p.m. ET. Ottawa suffered a 7-5 loss on the road its last time out on Dec. 27 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Sens' familiar problems — inconsistent goaltending and spotty special teams — reared their ugly heads in Saturday's loss at Toronto.

Senators forward Claude Giroux has been playing in the NHL for quite some time now as he is 37 years old and is still going strong. And when he gets set to take

Ullmark is in his second season with the Senators after being traded to Ottawa after the 2023-24 season for Joonas Korpisalo, Mark Kastelic and a first-round pick — which the Bruins used to draft Dean Letourneau. In 28 games this season, Ullmark is 14-8-5 with a 2.95 GAA and an .881 save percentage.

Even in the heart of the Christmas holidays, a Saturday matchup in the Battle of Ontario will rarely be a Silent Night. The Ottawa Senators are in Toronto to face the Maple Leafs for the first meaningful get-together since Toronto defeated the Sens in six games during last spring’s Stanley Cup Playoffs.