GAME DAY: Ottawa Senators @ Atlanta Thrashers – 7:00PM EST, Thursday, March 18, 2010

SENATORS (37-28-5) AT THRASHERS (29-29-11)

Last 10: Ottawa 3-6-1; Atlanta 3-5-2.

Season Series: This is the fourth and final regular-season meeting between these two clubs. The Thrashers took the most recent game, 6-1 at home, on Jan. 12 with six goals from six different players. The Senators won, 4-2, on Oct. 10 at ScotiaBank Place but lost, 3-1, in their other home meeting against Atlanta on Oct. 31.

Big Story: The month of March has not been very kind to the Senators as they have only won one game out of seven so far and are mired in a current three-game losing streak. Atlanta continues its five-game homestand, having dropped two of its first three games.

Team Scope:

Senators: Ottawa is 1-5-1 since resuming play following the Olympic break and its playoff standing has taken a dent as a result. While the Sens (79 points) maintain a five-point cushion over the eighth-place Boston Bruins, a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday has raised some cause for concern.

“We’re struggling, trying to get our offense going,” said captain Daniel Alfredsson. “It seems like we don’t want to make mistakes and we’re playing it safe all the time, but that hasn’t resulted in generating any offense.”

Thrashers: Atlanta finally ended its six-game losing streak with a 4-3 home win over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. The Thrashers quickly went up 3-0 in the first period of that game and chased Sabres’ goalie Ryan Miller, but went on to surrender that lead by the middle of the third period before Jim Slater finally won it on a wrist shot past Sabres’ backup Patrick Lalime. Atlanta is now five points removed from a playoff spot with just 13 games remaining on its schedule.

Who’s Hot: Alfredsson has compiled five assists over his last five games for Ottawa. ... For the Thrashers, forward Nik Antropov has 17 points in his last 13 games, including a goal and an assist on Tuesday.

Injury Report: Defenseman Filip Kuba has been out for the Sens since suffering a lower-body injury on Mar. 2. Blueliner Boris Valabik is out for the season with a knee injury for Atlanta.

Stat Pack: The Thrashers are only ahead of the last-place Maple Leafs for most goals against in the Eastern Conference at 3.16.

Puck Drop: Ottawa had an impressive 11-game winning streak from mid-January to the beginning of February, but it has only won four of its next 12 games since then. With such a tightly packed Eastern Conference, a team can easily go from playoff contender to pretender in the matter of just a few weeks. It is important that the Senators quickly reclaim their winning ways as the post-season is anything but guaranteed.

“Obviously, we've got our work cut out for us here,” Alfredsson told TSN on Tuesday.

After surging into the Olympic break with the Northeast Division lead, a rough stretch has dropped the Ottawa Senators out of the top spot.

The Senators look to avoid a fourth straight loss Thursday night when they face an Atlanta Thrashers team that routed them in the last matchup at Philips Arena.

Ottawa (37-28-5) won 14 of 16 to grab a one-point division lead over Buffalo heading into the Olympic hiatus, but has gone 1-5-1 since to fall three points behind the first-place Sabres.

The Senators' biggest problem has been offense, as they scored one or no goals in each of their last six losses. Ottawa has not been much better defensively, giving up at least four goals in four of those defeats.

Sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of Montreal and two in front of Philadelphia, the Senators are trying to figure out how to get back on track as they open a three-game road trip.

"I think we are struggling with handling the puck and making good passes and managing the puck," said captain Daniel Alfredsson, who has a team-leading 55 points but no goals in his last eight games. "It seems like when we get it we want to get rid of it right away instead of sometimes settling down and controlling the play. We're stretching at times and putting ourselves in difficult spots."

Facing the second-worst defensive team in the conference could help. Only last-place Toronto has allowed more goals than Atlanta's 224 among East clubs, and the Thrashers aren't playing any better than the Senators, going 1-5-1 in their last seven and giving up 25 goals.

Ottawa, though, did not fare well in its last visit to Philips Arena, losing 6-1 on Jan. 12 in the teams' most recent matchup. That capped an 0-5-0 stretch -- the Senators' last slide of at least four games.

The Senators were victimized for the second straight time by Ondrej Pavelec, who stopped 30 shots in that meeting after making a career-high 50 saves in a 3-1 victory at Ottawa on Oct. 31.

Pascal Leclaire allowed three first-period goals Jan. 12 before being replaced by Brian Elliott. Leclaire went 0-5-1 with a 4.64 goals-against average in his last seven starts.

Elliott, who made 26 saves in a 4-2 victory over the Thrashers on Oct. 10, is 1-3-0 with a 2.79 GAA in four starts since the break.

Atlanta (29-29-11) managed to stop its six-game skid Tuesday with a 4-3 victory over the Sabres, who have lost three straight. Nik Antropov, Bryan Little and Maxim Afinogenov scored in the opening 5:40 to chase Ryan Miller, but the Senators needed a goal from Jim Slater with 6:44 left to snap a four-game home losing streak.

"We felt comfortable we were generating enough chances to win the game," coach John Anderson said. "But nothing has come easy for us this year, so it doesn't surprise us."

Afinogenov and Antropov both had a goal and an assist in each of the last two games. Andropov had three assists in the two October matchups but missed the Jan. 12 game with a lower-body injury.

Defenseman Niclas Bergfors recorded a career-high three assists Tuesday and has six goals and five assists in 14 games since being acquired from New Jersey last month.

Who's Hot
OTTAWA

Brian Elliott (G) 1-2-0, 1.82, .920 in last 4 GPI

ATLANTA

Tobias Enstrom (D) 2 pts in last 2 GP
Ron Hainsey (D) 2 pts in last 3 GP
Nik Antropov (C/RW) 4 pts in last 2 GP
Maxim Afinogenov (RW/LW) 4 pts in last 2 GP
Niclas Bergfors (RW/LW) 3 pts in last 2 GP

Who's Cold
OTTAWA

Alex Kovalev (RW/LW) 0 pts in last 7 GP
Milan Michalek (LW) 3 pts in last 9 GP

ATLANTA

Zach Bogosian (D) 0 pts in last 6 GP
Colby Armstrong (RW/LW) 0 pts in last 6 GP
Todd White (C/LW) 0 pts in last 6 GP
Bryan Little (RW) 1 pts in last 6 GP
Rich Peverley (C/RW) 2 pts in last 6 GP
Johan Hedberg (G) 1-4-0, 3.45, .886 in last 5 GPI

wprager wrote:Here's the ESPN.com preview:

After surging into the Olympic break with the Northeast Division lead, a rough stretch has dropped the Ottawa Senators out of the top spot.

The Senators look to avoid a fourth straight loss Thursday night when they face an Atlanta Thrashers team that routed them in the last matchup at Philips Arena.

Ottawa (37-28-5) won 14 of 16 to grab a one-point division lead over Buffalo heading into the Olympic hiatus, but has gone 1-5-1 since to fall three points behind the first-place Sabres.

The Senators' biggest problem has been offense, as they scored one or no goals in each of their last six losses. Ottawa has not been much better defensively, giving up at least four goals in four of those defeats.

Sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of Montreal and two in front of Philadelphia, the Senators are trying to figure out how to get back on track as they open a three-game road trip.

"I think we are struggling with handling the puck and making good passes and managing the puck," said captain Daniel Alfredsson, who has a team-leading 55 points but no goals in his last eight games. "It seems like when we get it we want to get rid of it right away instead of sometimes settling down and controlling the play. We're stretching at times and putting ourselves in difficult spots."

Facing the second-worst defensive team in the conference could help. Only last-place Toronto has allowed more goals than Atlanta's 224 among East clubs, and the Thrashers aren't playing any better than the Senators, going 1-5-1 in their last seven and giving up 25 goals.

Ottawa, though, did not fare well in its last visit to Philips Arena, losing 6-1 on Jan. 12 in the teams' most recent matchup. That capped an 0-5-0 stretch -- the Senators' last slide of at least four games.

The Senators were victimized for the second straight time by Ondrej Pavelec, who stopped 30 shots in that meeting after making a career-high 50 saves in a 3-1 victory at Ottawa on Oct. 31.

Pascal Leclaire allowed three first-period goals Jan. 12 before being replaced by Brian Elliott. Leclaire went 0-5-1 with a 4.64 goals-against average in his last seven starts.

Elliott, who made 26 saves in a 4-2 victory over the Thrashers on Oct. 10, is 1-3-0 with a 2.79 GAA in four starts since the break.

Atlanta (29-29-11) managed to stop its six-game skid Tuesday with a 4-3 victory over the Sabres, who have lost three straight. Nik Antropov, Bryan Little and Maxim Afinogenov scored in the opening 5:40 to chase Ryan Miller, but the Senators needed a goal from Jim Slater with 6:44 left to snap a four-game home losing streak.

"We felt comfortable we were generating enough chances to win the game," coach John Anderson said. "But nothing has come easy for us this year, so it doesn't surprise us."

Afinogenov and Antropov both had a goal and an assist in each of the last two games. Andropov had three assists in the two October matchups but missed the Jan. 12 game with a lower-body injury.

Defenseman Niclas Bergfors recorded a career-high three assists Tuesday and has six goals and five assists in 14 games since being acquired from New Jersey last month.

hemlock wrote:

wprager wrote:Here's the ESPN.com preview:

After surging into the Olympic break with the Northeast Division lead, a rough stretch has dropped the Ottawa Senators out of the top spot.

The Senators look to avoid a fourth straight loss Thursday night when they face an Atlanta Thrashers team that routed them in the last matchup at Philips Arena.

Ottawa (37-28-5) won 14 of 16 to grab a one-point division lead over Buffalo heading into the Olympic hiatus, but has gone 1-5-1 since to fall three points behind the first-place Sabres.

The Senators' biggest problem has been offense, as they scored one or no goals in each of their last six losses. Ottawa has not been much better defensively, giving up at least four goals in four of those defeats.

Sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of Montreal and two in front of Philadelphia, the Senators are trying to figure out how to get back on track as they open a three-game road trip.

"I think we are struggling with handling the puck and making good passes and managing the puck," said captain Daniel Alfredsson, who has a team-leading 55 points but no goals in his last eight games. "It seems like when we get it we want to get rid of it right away instead of sometimes settling down and controlling the play. We're stretching at times and putting ourselves in difficult spots."

Facing the second-worst defensive team in the conference could help. Only last-place Toronto has allowed more goals than Atlanta's 224 among East clubs, and the Thrashers aren't playing any better than the Senators, going 1-5-1 in their last seven and giving up 25 goals.

Ottawa, though, did not fare well in its last visit to Philips Arena, losing 6-1 on Jan. 12 in the teams' most recent matchup. That capped an 0-5-0 stretch -- the Senators' last slide of at least four games.

The Senators were victimized for the second straight time by Ondrej Pavelec, who stopped 30 shots in that meeting after making a career-high 50 saves in a 3-1 victory at Ottawa on Oct. 31.

Pascal Leclaire allowed three first-period goals Jan. 12 before being replaced by Brian Elliott. Leclaire went 0-5-1 with a 4.64 goals-against average in his last seven starts.

Elliott, who made 26 saves in a 4-2 victory over the Thrashers on Oct. 10, is 1-3-0 with a 2.79 GAA in four starts since the break.

Atlanta (29-29-11) managed to stop its six-game skid Tuesday with a 4-3 victory over the Sabres, who have lost three straight. Nik Antropov, Bryan Little and Maxim Afinogenov scored in the opening 5:40 to chase Ryan Miller, but the Senators needed a goal from Jim Slater with 6:44 left to snap a four-game home losing streak.

"We felt comfortable we were generating enough chances to win the game," coach John Anderson said. "But nothing has come easy for us this year, so it doesn't surprise us."

Afinogenov and Antropov both had a goal and an assist in each of the last two games. Andropov had three assists in the two October matchups but missed the Jan. 12 game with a lower-body injury.

Defenseman Niclas Bergfors recorded a career-high three assists Tuesday and has six goals and five assists in 14 games since being acquired from New Jersey last month.

Thanks espn!

Bergfors is a winger, not a defenceman.

I'm not overly optimistic about this game....

Afinogenov scored in the opening 5:40 to chase Ryan Miller, but the Senators needed a goal from Jim Slater with 6:44 left to snap a four-game home losing streak.

wprager wrote:Kuba and Fisher should be playing tonight.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

wprager wrote:Kuba and Fisher should be playing tonight.

The operative word here is should. I personally predict Kuba not to play for yet another game. As for Fisher I hope he doesn't play and gets healthy.

Kovalfie wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

wprager wrote:Kuba and Fisher should be playing tonight.

The operative word here is should. I personally predict Kuba not to play for yet another game. As for Fisher I hope he doesn't play and gets healthy.

Doubtful. Fisher is a team guy that will play injured if he truly believe he can help the team. I wouldn't be shocked to CC push Kuba into playing. Top-two are getting way too many minutes and Karlsson has looked lost without Kuba.