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Senators hit the road to take on Canucks

Nov 11, 2014 - 4:09 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - After losing the final two games of a homestand, the Ottawa Senators will try to get back on track when they kick off a three-game tour of Western Canada with Tuesday's clash against the Vancouver Canucks.

The Senators began their recent four-game stay at Canadian Tire Centre with wins over Detroit and Minnesota before losing two straight on home ice over the weekend.

Ottawa earned a point in Saturday's shootout loss to Winnipeg, but lost a 5-3 regulation decision the following night versus rival Toronto.

The Senators held the lead three times in the early going on Sunday, with their last edge coming after Mark Stone made it a 3-2 game early in the second period.

Toronto, however, scored three unanswered goals to skate away with the win in a game that was originally scheduled for Oct. 22. The original game date was postponed when Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was tragically shot and killed while standing guard at the National War Memorial on Parliament Hill.

The second of Toronto's three unanswered tallies came short-handed when Mike Santorelli notched the game-winner at 10:53 of the second period.

Mike Hoffman and Kyle Turris joined Stone as the goal-scorers for Ottawa, while Robin Lehner was saddled with the loss after saving only 25-of-30 shots.

"I thought as the game went on, their competition level was raised and ours got lower," Senators coach Paul MacLean said.

Ottawa, which will visit Edmonton on Thursday before completing its road trip Saturday in Calgary, is 3-3-0 as the visiting team this season.

The Senators are facing the Canucks for the first time since winning last season's Heritage Classic at BC Place. The "outdoor" game was actually played under a roof as the retractable dome was closed due to inclement weather in Vancouver.

Ottawa's 4-2 win at BC Place halted a six-game skid in this series, but Vancouver has won 10 of the past 12 encounters with the Sens.

The Canucks recently ended a four-game road trip on a positive note, beating the Anaheim Ducks in a shootout to go 3-1-0 on the swing. It was Vancouver's seventh victory in the last nine games.

Vancouver notched a 2-1 decision Sunday in Anaheim with Nick Bonino scoring the lone goal of the shootout to beat his former team.

Bonino, who was acquired by the Canucks from the Ducks in the offseason for prized forward Ryan Kesler, moved the puck from his forehand to his backhand before slipping the puck through the pads of Frederik Andersen. Kesler, the third and final shooter for Anaheim, rang a shot off the post to seal the outcome.

"It doesn't get much better than that, getting the win in a shootout was something," said Bonino.

Alexandre Burrows scored a goal in regulation, while Eddie Lack made 28 saves and stopped all three Ducks in the shootout.

The Canucks are playing two straight and five of their next six games on home ice, where they are 4-2-0 this season.

Forwards Derek Dorsett (undisclosed) and Radim Vrbata (lower body) and defenseman Luca Sbisa (undisclosed) are questionable for tonight's game after sitting out Sunday with injuries.