Senators' Alfredsson out vs. Sharks

Mar 5, 2008 - 11:19 PM SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) -- Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson will not play in Wednesday's game against the San Jose Sharks.

The 35-year-old Swede injured his back during Monday's 3-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks after he was cross-checked by defenseman Francois Beauchemin during the third period. Alfredsson will be replaced by rookie Nick Foligno in the lineup.

"I moved a little bit better today, but it's not good enough to go on the ice," said Alfredsson, who did not rule out playing in Thursday's road game against the Los Angeles Kings.

"It's a lot better today, so hopefully it keeps (improving). I don't know if there's a big chance, but I'm hoping it's going to get a lot better by tomorrow and looser. So we'll see what happens (on Thursday), I guess."

Ottawa coach Bryan Murray felt that being cautious was the best course of action for the struggling Senators, who have lost four of their last five games in regulation, including a 3-1 setback to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday in a rematch of last season's Stanley Cup Finals.

"He's just going to have to take it day by day," Murray said. "He was a lot better today, but didn't feel he could give it 100 percent. There's not a lot of sense in losing the guy for a period of time if we can get him healthy to a degree.

"I don't know if he's going to be 100 percent when he comes back, but this will give him a chance to recover a little bit."

Alfredsson has 37 goals and 42 assists in 60 games this season. A sixth-round pick in 1994, Alfredsson has 328 tallies, 837 points and 377 penalty minutes in 843 career contests.