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.