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Sliding Senators searching for offense

Nov 20, 2008 - 11:25 AM Montreal (10-5-2) at Ottawa (6-9-3), 7:30 p.m. EST

OTTAWA (Ticker) -- The Ottawa Senators' once-potent offense has been pretty dormant.

Ottawa is hoping for a stronger attack as it looks to snap a five-game losing streak when it hosts the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

The Senators led the league with 258 goals last season, one year after finishing second in the league in scoring. Ottawa also had the highest-scoring offense during the 2003-04 and 2005-06 campaigns as well.

This season, the Senators rank 29th in scoring, averaging 2.33 goals per game.

Ottawa has tallied five times during its recent skid, which includes Monday's 2-1 shootout loss to the New York Rangers. It was the first loss beyond regulation during the slide for the Senators, who misfired on all three shootout attempts.

Montreal has also struggled of late, going 2-4-1 in its last seven. The Canadiens have tallied five goals over their last four games.

Robert Lang scored the lone goal in Montreal's 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. His tally 67 seconds into the second period snapped an 0-for-25 stretch on the power play for the Canadiens.

Montreal blanked Ottawa, 4-0, in the first meeting between the teams on November 11.