(Sports Network) - Ottawa has yet to find its stride on the road this season. Having to face its former franchise star in San Jose could make hitting that groove that much more difficult.
The Senators get their first look at Dany Heatley in a Sharks uniform Tuesday in a matchup at HP Pavilion.
While Ottawa is only two points back of first-place Buffalo in the Northeast Division, it hasn't helped itself on the road. The Senators are 10-3-3 at home this season, but just 3-4-1 as the guest club. The Sens begin a five-game road trip tonight looking to halt a four-game skid (0-3-1) away from Ottawa.
The opener of this trip is a highly-anticipated one. Ottawa will face Heatley for the first time since dealing the forward to San Jose along with a 2010 fifth-round pick for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a second-round pick in 2010 on September 12.
Heatley, acquired by Ottawa from Atlanta in August of 2005, has fit right in with the Sharks, as he is tied for second in the NHL with 18 goals while helping San Jose post an NHL-best 40 points through 28 games.
The forward totaled 180 goals and 372 points in four seasons with Ottawa, posting back-to-back 50-goal seasons in 2005-06 and 06-07. He also had a career-high 105 points in 06-07, helping the Senators reach the Stanley Cup Finals, but had just 39 goals and 72 points last season and requested a trade despite signing a six-year contract extension in October of 2007.
"The first time playing your former team, it is a little different," Heatley said on San Jose's official Web site. "When the puck drops it will be about hockey. I've certainly moved on."
Michalek, the sixth overall pick of the 2003 draft by San Jose, has been solid with Ottawa after notching 91 goals and 214 points in 317 games with the Sharks. He posted three 20-goal seasons with San Jose and has 13 goals and 18 points in 24 games with Ottawa.
"It's going to be odd going into the [visiting team's] dressing room, but I'm going to treat it as [another] game," Michalek told Ottawa's Web site. "I'm a Senator now and I'm happy here, so it's good."
Cheechoo, meanwhile, has posted just two goals in 24 games since the trade. He had a 56-goal campaign with San Jose in 2005-06, but totaled just 72 goals over the next three seasons. He was a second-round pick by San Jose in 1998.
Michalek scored twice and had an assist in Ottawa's 4-3 shootout loss to Boston on Saturday, with his second marker coming with 19.3 seconds left in the third to force the extra time.
Daniel Alfredsson had the other goal for Ottawa, which got 30 saves from Brian Elliott. The Senators, who have lost two of three since a four-game winning streak, also got Mike Fisher back in the lineup after he missed two games with an upper-body injury.
Heatley, meanwhile, has gone three straight games without a goal for only the second time this season, but he has posted eight tallies and four assists in his last 11 games.
Instead, Manny Malhotra and Jamie McGinn scored in a 13-second span in the third period to clinch a 4-2 win over Vancouver on Sunday. Dan Boyle netted the go-ahead goal on the power play in the second frame and Frazer McLaren notched his first career goal in what was his 10th NHL game.
Evgeni Nabokov stopped 25 shots for the Sharks, who have won four of their last five games and got defenseman Rob Blake back after he missed 11 games with an upper-body injury. Devin Setoguchi also came back after sitting out five contests with a leg injury.
The Sharks kick off a five-game homestand tonight and are 7-1-2 as the host. However, that lone regulation loss was a 7-2 thrashing at the hands of the Blackhawks last Wednesday.
San Jose has won three straight versus the Senators, including a 2-1 win at Ottawa last year. The Sens have lost two of their last three in San Jose.