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Mar 23, 2010 - 5:00 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Philadelphia (37-30-5) at Ottawa (37-30-5), 7:30 p.m. EDT

Losing another goaltender didn't bode well for the Philadelphia Flyers in their fight to stay in playoff position in the Eastern Conference, but now the team will try to withstand the absence of star forward Jeff Carter for the rest of the regular season.

The injury-depleted Flyers look to win for just the second time in six games Tuesday night when they visit the Ottawa Senators.

Philadelphia (37-30-5) suffered a major blow last Tuesday, when goalie Michael Leighton suffered a season-ending ankle injury during a shootout loss at Nashville. The team had already lost primary goaltender Ray Emery for the season in February.

Carter's injury could end up being the most costly. Carter, the Flyers' leader with 33 goals and 60 points, is out three to four weeks with a broken bone in his left foot he suffered when he was hit by a shot in the first period of Sunday's 3-1 loss to Atlanta.

The injury will end Carter's streak of 286 consecutive games played - the third-longest in team history.

Carter is hopeful he can be back for the playoffs. The Flyers are tied with Montreal for sixth, but they're just four points ahead of ninth-place Atlanta.

"It's tough," Carter said. "This is what you really play all year for, down the stretch run and into the playoffs."

The injuries are already taking a toll on Philadelphia, which has dropped four of five while scoring two goals or fewer in three of those defeats. The Flyers were outshot 45-31 on Sunday as the Thrashers swept the home-and-home series.

"We're trying to gain momentum here as we move through the end of the season," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. "It's tough when you suffer two losses in a home-and-home, but we're still in charge of what we do here. We're still (the sixth) seed in the conference, we need to win hockey games moving forward. That's the most important thing."

Better play from Brian Boucher could help. The goaltender has struggled in place of Leighton, going 1-2-0 with a 3.37 goals-against average.

Boucher is 1-6-0 with a tie and a 3.43 GAA in nine games against the Senators (38-30-5). He didn't fare well in the last meeting Jan. 3, giving up five goals in a 7-4 loss at Ottawa after replacing Leighton, who was pulled midway through the first period for allowing two goals on five shots.

Philadelphia has lost seven of eight at Scotiabank Place, including the last four visits.

The Senators, fifth in the East and two points ahead of the Flyers, are looking to build on Monday's 2-0 win over Montreal. Brian Elliott made 29 saves for his fourth shutout to halt Ottawa's season high-tying five-game slide.

"It feels great, obviously the two points, but even more I think the way we played," said captain Daniel Alfredsson, who assisted on both Ottawa goals. "The way Elliott played was huge for us. I mean that gave us a lot of confidence, and I thought we played really well in front of him as well and really put a lot of pressure on them."

Elliott might be in net again to help Ottawa end a three-game home skid. He has posted a 4.33 GAA while losing two of those games, getting pulled from a loss to the New York Rangers on March 2. He had won his previous seven home games behind a 1.84 GAA.

Elliott might be in position to begin re-establishing that success. He's won all three of his career games against Philadelphia with a 1.17 GAA and a shutout.