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Lightning pay a visit to Ottawa to tangle with Sens

Jan 5, 2012 - 3:48 PM (Sports Network) - The Tampa Bay Lightning are hoping the second stop on a three-game road trip goes better than the opener, as they visit the Ottawa Senators for tonight's clash at Scotiabank Place.

The Lightning built some momentum recently with a perfect 3-0 homestand that saw the club notch a combined 14 goals, but Tampa was then dealt a 7-3 setback Tuesday in Toronto. It was a disappointing setback for the Bolts, who made it to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals last year, but are currently 12th in the East with 37 points.

Joffrey Lupul totaled a goal and three assists to lift the Maple Leafs to the lopsided home win and drop Tampa Bay to 6-13-3 on the road.

"I don't want to downplay their effort, but we've been horrible against everybody," said Bolts head coach Guy Boucher. "Sometimes I feel we could have four orange cones against us on the road and we still wouldn't get a shot off. We could certainly do better against anybody no matter what they do."

Steven Stamkos, Vinny Lecavalier and Pavel Kubina scored for the Lightning. Stamkos, who leads the NHL with 27 goals, has tallied seven markers in four games and has 11 in the last nine tilts. Martin St. Louis added an assist on Tuesday to give him a point in six straight games since returning from an injury and in eight consecutive tests overall.

Mathieu Garon was tagged in Tuesday's loss for four goals on 21 shots and was pulled just after the midway point of regulation. Dwayne Roloson allowed three scores on 21 shots the rest of the way. Roloson hasn't started a game since Dec. 12 and could get the call tonight.

Lightning forward Ryan Malone was injured in practice on Monday and didn't play in Tuesday's game. He is doubtful for tonight with a lower body injury.

The Senators have been surging of late, winning three in a row and posting a 6-1-1 record over their last eight trips to the ice. Ottawa, which is eight points ahead of Tampa in the East standings, has posted all three wins during its current streak after regulation and is coming off Monday's overtime victory against visiting New Jersey.

Daniel Alfredsson scored with 59.4 seconds left in OT to hand the Sens a 3-2 victory over the Devils. In the extra session, with Ottawa on the power play thanks to a penalty to David Clarkson, Alfredsson received a pass at the left circle and held it for a moment before ripping a wrister past Martin Brodeur for the win.

"I was fortunate with that one because I am sure Brodeur wanted that back," said Alfredsson. "We're on a bit of a roll right now and hopefully we can keep this going."

Jason Spezza and Erik Condra each had third-period goals for the Senators, who improved to 12-8-1 as the host this season. Craig Anderson stopped 27 shots in the win.

Senators defenseman Sergei Gonchar has sat out the last two games with a head injury and is questionable for tonight. Fellow blueliner Chris Phillips suffered an upper body injury on Monday and is considered day-to-day.

Ottawa recorded a 4-2 home win over the Lightning on Dec. 5 and has taken three of the last four meetings in this series. The Sens have won two in a row and six of the last seven encounters in Canada's capital city.