Hurricanes host the Senators to start the NHL Playoffs

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Ottawa Senators (44-27-11, in the Atlantic Division) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (53-22-7, in the Metropolitan Division)

Raleigh, North Carolina; Saturday, 3 p.m. EDT

LINE: Hurricanes -151, Senators +126; over/under is 6

NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Hurricanes host series opener

BOTTOM LINE: The Carolina Hurricanes host the Ottawa Senators to start the Eastern Conference first round. The teams meet Sunday for the fourth time this season. The Hurricanes went 2-1 against the Senators in the regular season. In their last regular season matchup on April 5, the Senators won 6-3.

Carolina has gone 29-10-2 in home games and 53-22-7 overall. The Hurricanes have a 19-4-3 record in games decided by a goal.

Ottawa has a 21-15-5 record in road games and a 44-27-11 record overall. The Senators have scored 275 total goals (3.4 per game) to rank eighth in the league.

TOP PERFORMERS: Sebastian Aho has scored 27 goals with 53 assists for the Hurricanes. Nikolaj Ehlers has three goals and seven assists over the last 10 games.

Tim Stutzle has 34 goals and 48 assists for the Senators. Drake Batherson has four goals and four assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Hurricanes: 7-2-1, averaging 3.9 goals, 6.6 assists, 3.2 penalties and 6.7 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.

Senators: 6-3-1, averaging 3.6 goals, 5.5 assists, 3.2 penalties and 7.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game.

INJURIES: Hurricanes: None listed.

Senators: Tyler Kleven: day to day (upper body), Nick Jensen: out for season (lower-body).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.