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Senators aim to snap out of funk vs. Lightning

Jan 24, 2008 - 2:49 PM Ottawa (30-15-4) at Tampa Bay (20-24-5) 7:30 pm EST

TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) - Minus one of their top scorers, the slumping Ottawa Senators aim to snap a three-game losing streak when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.

Ottawa, which leads the Northeast Division with 64 points, is sorely missing left wing Dany Heatley. A two-time 50-goal scorer, Heatley is out for six weeks after suffering a separated shoulder on January 12.

Without its second-leading scorer Ottawa has lost five of six and seen its 10 point lead over Montreal (25-15-8) in the Northeast cut to six.

The second-highest scoring team in the league behind Detroit, the Senators have averaged just two goals in the past six games. Prior to Heatley's injury they had scored fewer than three goals just once in the last 18 games.

The good news is that captain and leading scorer Daniel Alfredsson returned from a hip injury on Tuesday after missing the previous two games.

Ottawa, which fell 5-3 to Florida on Tuesday, cannot take the last-place Lightning lightly.

Tampa Bay has won three straight, outscoring its opponents, 9-3, in the process. Martin St. Louis notched a goal and two assists as the Lightning snapped a five-game home losing streak with a 4-3 victory over Edmonton on Tuesday.