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Penguins aim to continue recent surge versus Senators

Nov 26, 2010 - 4:51 PM (Sports Network) - The surging Pittsburgh Penguins will shoot for a fifth straight victory when they welcome the Ottawa Senators for this afternoon's matinee at CONSOL Energy Center.

The Penguins have matched a season-high with four straight wins and have also posted victories in six of their last seven outings, going 6-0-1 over that stretch. Pittsburgh hasn't suffered a regulation loss since Nov. 10 against Boston.

The hot streak has moved the Pens into a tie with Tampa Bay for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and Pittsburgh enters today just four points behind Philadelphia for the Atlantic Division lead.

The Penguins' most recent victory came Wednesday night in Buffalo, as Marc- Andre Fleury stopped all 30 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season in the 1-0 win for Pittsburgh. Pascal Dupuis notched the lone score for the Penguins, while Fleury improved to 7-6-1 on the season with his fourth consecutive victory.

"We didn't stop with the hard work throughout the game," Fleury said. "They're a good offensive team but we did a good job of keeping them to the outside.

Fleury has started the last seven games for Pittsburgh and could get the call again tonight. He is 5-7-1 with a 3.87 goals-against average in 15 career starts against the Senators.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby carries a 10-game point streak in today's game and has recorded nine goals and 12 assists over that stretch. Crosby is second in the NHL in both goals (15) and points (36) this season.

Today marks the first of two straight on home ice for the Pens, who will also welcome Calgary on Saturday afternoon. Pittsburgh has won two straight at CEC and is 5-5-1 on home ice this season.

The Senators, meanwhile, have lost three straight on the road and are 4-6-1 as the visiting club this season. After today's matchup, Ottawa will return home for a four-game residency, which begins Saturday against Toronto.

Ottawa has lost four of its last five games overall and is coming off Wednesday's 2-1 home loss to Dallas. Brenden Morrow scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Stars held on for the 2-1 victory at Scotiabank Place.

Ryan Shannon scored for Ottawa and Pascal Leclaire had 24 saves in the loss.

Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson missed the last two games with flu-like symptoms and is questionable for today's tilt as well. The 20-year-old is second among Ottawa defensemen with 11 points this year.

Pittsburgh posted a 5-2 home win against the Senators earlier this season, but Ottawa has still taken five of eight and eight of the last 12 meetings in the series. The Sens have also won four out of six and eight of 11 in the Steel City, although this will be just their second game at Pittsburgh's new arena.