The last-place Ottawa Senators suffered their sixth straight loss on Thursday night, falling 4-2 to the Edmonton Oilers.

The Senators traded pending free agents Mark Stone, Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel ahead of the trade deadline, and have a salary of less than $60 million on their 23-man roster.

Goaltender Craig Anderson emphasized Thursday that, despite their circumstance, the Senators must continue to compete every night.

“The group that’s in here should be the group that’s finishing the year now,” Anderson told the Ottawa Sun prior to allowing three goals on 25 shots Thursday. “We understand the situation we’re in, but at the same time, we have to try and get better each day. We can’t just fold the tent and say, ‘This is it.’ As professionals, you’re paid to do a job. The minute you disrespect that, you don’t belong here.”

UPDATE: The Senators fired head coach Guy Boucher on Friday.

The Senators picked up multiple draft picks at the trade deadline and their prize addition of defenceman Erik Brannstrom. The team's AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, has shown promise, though the team isn't letting on if their looking past this season.

“We’re not necessarily focusing on that,” defenceman Thomas Chabot said. “We know we have a lot of good players, whether they’re [now] here or in Belleville. It takes time. It’s not going to come overnight.”

“There are things that can change that you can never expect," Boucher added "So why would we spend our time expecting things… [if] we have no clue if they’re going to happen or not?"

The Senators record sits at 22-37-5 following Thursday's loss. The team will be back in action on Saturday against the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.