Poor third-period play plagued the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings in their most recent games.

It appears to be part of a larger trend for Ottawa, however.

The Senators look to put together a more complete effort when they visit Detroit on Monday night.

You can catch all of the action live in the Senators region on TSN5 beginning at 7:30pm and listen on TSN Radio 1200 Ottawa with coverage beginning at 5:30 pm et.

Fittingly, Daniel Alfredsson's two former teams are meeting as the 41-year-old reportedly prepares to end his comeback bid. According to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger, Alfredsson has decided not play this season and though the Red Wings have been told the veteran forward has finished his playing career, the team is waiting to hear from the Swede himself. Alfredsson has been plagued by an injured disc in his back over the past few years.

Ottawa (9-6-4) won 3-1 at home over Detroit on Nov. 4 and knocked off Minnesota two days later before dropping five of seven. The Senators lost 3-2 at home to St. Louis on Saturday, getting outshot 15-5 in a scoreless final period. They held a 21-18 shot advantage through the first 40 minutes.

The Senators have scored two third-period goals while giving up eight during their 2-3-2 stretch. They own a plus-two goal margin over the first 40 minutes in that same stretch.

"They're making hockey plays and we're not," left wing Clarke MacArthur said. "We're not making good passes. They're going tape-to-tape and moving it, and we weren't, so it's tough to get momentum. It's just got to be crisper."

MacArthur leads the club with eight goals but has one in his last seven games. He has four goals in his last four matchups with Detroit.

The Red Wings (10-5-5) squandered their chance at a perfect three-game trip with a 4-1 loss to Toronto on Saturday, surrendering three goals in the third period.

Tomas Tatar continued his hot stretch with his fifth goal in five games. He has eight goals and three assists over his last 11 contests after recording one point through his first nine.

The line of Tatar, Justin Abdelkader and Riley Sheahan has been responsible for six of the team's 10 goals in the last three games.

"Yeah, they've been really great for us," captain Henrik Zetterberg told the team's official website. "Those guys played really good for us last year, maybe didn't have the start that they wanted but they've been on fire here lately. They're really good players and the plays they made (Saturday) I think they could have had three or four goals. It's fun to see."

Zetterberg leads the team with 17 points but has gone without one in four straight games. He has 15 points in 13 career meetings with Ottawa.

Detroit has scored seven power-play goals in 22 chances in its last five home games and could take advantage of a potentially depleted Ottawa back line. Chris Phillips - who leads Senators defenseman with a plus-four rating - was scratched Saturday with an undisclosed injury despite taking part in warmups. He missed two games earlier this month due to a lower-body injury.

Fellow defenseman Marc Methot has not played this season due to a back injury, though he skated with the team Sunday. He had 23 points in 75 games and posted an even rating for Ottawa in 2013-14.

Erik Karlsson, with a three-game point streak, has one goal and seven assists in seven career meetings with Detroit.

Johan Franzen has 12 goals in 10 career games against Ottawa, including four in the last three.

Jimmy Howard has dropped three straight starts against the Senators while posting a 4.03 goals-against average.

 

Game Notes:

OTT is 1-0-0 vs DET this season, winning at home
OTT was 2-0-0 in DET last season, 10GF

Detroit:
coming off a 2-1-0 road trip (lost last), 10/10 on PK
1-1-1 past 3 home games, 11/13 on PK
best home PK (94.4%)
Zetterberg 0G past 8 games, 0PTS last 4GP
Tatar (5G, 2A) 5 game PT streak
Howard (4-1-1) past 6 home starts, 2.47GAA, .899sv%

Ottawa:
2-3-2 past 7 games, 3 or fewer GF in 6 of the games
0/12 on PP last 4 road games, 1-2-1
Anderson 2-2-0 all-time in DET, 2.87, .920sv%
Ryan (2G, 2A) 4 game PT streak

 

Projected Lines:

Ottawa Senators:
MacArthur - Turris - Chiasson
Ryan - Legwand - Zibanejad
Michalek - Smith - Neil
Hoffman - Lazar - Stone

Boroweicki - Karlsson
Cowen - Ceci
Weircioch - Gryba

Anderson

Detroit Red Wings:
Nyquist - Zetterberg - Abdelkader
Tatar - Sheahan - Franzen
Weiss - Helm - Jurco
Miller - Glendening - Andersson

Kronwall – Eriksson
Quincey - Dekyser
Kindl - Ouellet

Howard