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Senators hope to stay hot against Thrashers

Nov 9, 2010 - 4:05 PM (Sports Network) - The suddenly-hot Ottawa Senators will try for a fourth consecutive victory tonight when they welcome the Atlanta Thrashers to Scotiabank Place.

Ottawa recorded its third win in a row Saturday in Montreal as former Canadiens star Alex Kovalev scored two goals to lift the Senators to the 3-2 victory at the Bell Centre.

Zack Smith also lit the lamp for the Senators, who have also won five of their last six games overall. Peter Regin and Erik Karlsson both had two assists, while Brian Elliott stopped 21 shots to earn his seventh win of the season.

"(The win) is definitely a confidence builder. We just have to keep it going," Elliott said.

Ottawa, which will host Vancouver on Thursday, is 4-3-0 as the host this season. The Senators have won three of their last four as the host.

The Senators are expected to have at least one of their two injured players back on the ice tonight. Both forward Milan Michalek and defenseman Filip Kuba practiced on Monday and Michalek is a good bet to return after missing the last four games with left knee tendinitis.

Kuba, however, has missed the entire season with a broken right leg and could sit out again tonight. The Czech blueliner is expected to return sometime this week for the Sens.

Atlanta is coming off consecutive losses and has dropped three of its last four tests (1-1-2). The Thrashers also played their last game on Saturday and were dealt a 5-4 setback by the visiting Chicago Blackhawks. Viktor Stalberg scored in the fifth-round of the shootout to lead the Blackhawks to the close victory.

After former Blackhawk Dustin Byfuglien missed the net on Atlanta's fifth chance, Stalberg beat Ondrej Pavelec with a backhander for the win. Byfuglien and fellow Thrasher players Andrew Ladd, Brent Sopel and Ben Eager all joined Atlanta in the offseason after winning the Stanley Cup with Chicago in the 2009-10 campaign.

Nik Antropov had a goal and an assist while Alexander Burmistrov, Evander Kane and Rich Peverley each lit the lamp for the Thrashers. Pavelec finished the game with 36 saves.

"We didn't look at it like we got a point," said Antropov. "It doesn't matter who you play, you always want to win. We're desperate for wins at home and get some points cause the more you get now, the less you need at the end."

Atlanta forward Bryan Little missed his fourth straight game with a concussion and facial lacerations. He is out for tonight's contest as well.

The Thrashers are 4-2-2 as the host this year and have won two of their last three on home ice.

Atlanta won three of four against the Sens last year and the Thrashers have taken five of seven overall in the series. Ottawa does have five victories in the last seven meetings at Scotiabank Place.