OTTAWA -- Daniel Alfredsson and Erik Karlsson arrived at Canadian Tire Centre together for their game Sunday, but unlike in previous seasons, they parted ways in front of the visiting team's dressing room.

The two Swedes shook hands and embraced before Alfredsson turned to head into the Detroit Red Wings' room. Karlsson continued down the hallway to the Ottawa Senators' dressing room.

Alfredsson will play his first game in Ottawa since parting ways with the Senators last summer, when he signed a one-year contract to play with Detroit.

OTTAWA - Ottawa Senators defenseman Jared Cowen will be out of the lineup for the first time this season for a game against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.

"I think Jared has struggled at times this year, and I think that it's time for him to watch a game and see if he can settle himself down and get himself back playing the way that we need him to play," Ottawa coach Paul MacLean said.

Cowen had hip surgery last November and missed most of last season after he was injured while playing for Binghamton of the American Hockey League during the lockout.

OTTAWA -- It was a quiet morning on the ice at Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday after the Ottawa Senators and Minnesota Wild played road games Tuesday.

Neither team held a morning skate after each arrived in Canada's capital with decisive losses fresh in their thoughts.

Goalie Craig Anderson will start for the fourth time in five games for Ottawa since he was sidelined because of a sore neck. Anderson has a 5-6-2 record with a 3.26 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.

Backup Robin Lehner faced 42 shots Tuesday in a 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. It was the seventh time the Senators have allowed at least 40 shots. Ottawa has allowed a League-high 761 shots in 21 games, an average of more than 36 per game. Defenseman Marc Methot said that puts too much pressure on Anderson and Lehner to bear the load.

"You can't count on your goalie being your savior every single game and I think putting that weight on their shoulders and having them having to stop 40, 45 shots a game, that's unacceptable and that's not going to happen every season," Methot said Wednesday. "We were pretty fortunate last year to have that, but it's time now for us to kind of grow up a little bit here and mature defensively and really start playing a lot more sound in our own end."

OTTAWA -- The Columbus Blue Jackets have a curious combination of streaks going as they get ready to face the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.

The Blue Jackets have just one win in their past nine games (1-5-3), yet they have earned points in four straight games. Columbus ended a five-game losing streak on Nov. 9 with a 5-2 win against the New York Islanders, then followed that up with a pair of overtime losses and a 3-2 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Friday.

Blue Jackets left wing Nick Foligno will play his first game in Ottawa since he was traded by the Senators to Columbus for defenseman Marc Methot on July 1, 2012.

"It's going to be a tooth-and-nail kind of game, where it's 60 minutes and you're grinding it out to get that win, and I think we just have to find that little extra effort to make sure we do that," Foligno said. "I think once we do, and find that way to get a win, we're going to start rolling from there."

OTTAWA -- Despite allowing five goals in his previous start, Craig Anderson will be in net again for the Ottawa Senators on Friday against the Boston Bruins at Canadian Tire Centre.

In his first start since Nov. 3, Anderson stopped 26 of 31 shots Tuesday in a 5-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. He missed three games because of a sore neck, the result of a goalmouth collision with Dallas Stars rookie Valeri Nichushkin.

Robin Lehner led Ottawa to three straight wins while Anderson was sidelined. Lehner was named the NHL's First Star of the Week on Monday after posting a 1.33 goals-against average and .958 save percentage in wins against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens and Florida Panthers.

After making the point that "Craig's the No. 1 goalie," Senators coach Paul MacLean joked about how he arrived at the decision to come back with Anderson against Boston.

"It came up heads?" MacLean said after Ottawa's morning skate.

OTTAWA -- Craig Anderson will start in goal for the Ottawa Senators against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday even though Robin Lehner was named the NHL's First Star of the Week on Monday.

Lehner led Ottawa to three straight wins while Anderson was sidelined because of a sore neck, posting a 1.33 goals-against average and .958 save percentage over the course of the streak.

"It's a nice honor, but I think it reflects on the whole team's defensive play too," Lehner said. "I think I got a lot more help the last three, four games. I think we're starting to play a lot better."

The 22-year-old Swede had no problem accepting coach Paul MacLean's decision to start Anderson against Philadelphia.

"Paul knows a lot more than I do," Lehner said. "Hopefully one day I can be the starter here. I don't know if it's next year or three years from now, but [Anderson] is great. He's a quality number-one goalie in this League. He's led his team to two playoff runs. All I did is win three games and people are talking about me playing again. He's the starter and that's the way it is."

OTTAWA -- Goalie Tim Thomas was activated from injured reserve by the Florida Panthers on Saturday prior to the game against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre.

The two-time Vezina Trophy winner led the Panthers onto the ice for the pre-game warm-up. Thomas has won his past nine games at Canadian Tire Centre, all as a member of the Boston Bruins.

Florida interim coach Peter Horachek makes his debut on Saturday. One of the few certainties about his starting lineup is that Jesse Winchester won't be included.

Winchester was suspended for three games Friday for elbowing Boston Bruins forward Chris Kelly in the head in Florida's 4-1 loss at TD Garden on Thursday.

"I didn't know what to expect, really," Winchester said. "It is their ruling. I have to respect it, and live and learn, and move on."

Horachek was promoted from San Antonio of the American Hockey League by Panthers general manager Dale Tallon, who fired coach Kevin Dineen and assistant coaches Gord Murphy and Craig Ramsay on Friday.

OTTAWA -- The Montreal Canadiens face the Ottawa Senators on Thursday in their first game against an Atlantic Division opponent since opening night.

Montreal has played 15 games, including a dozen against Western Conference teams, without playing a division game since Oct. 1, when they lost their home opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

While the Toronto-Montreal rivalry is the oldest in NHL history, the Canadiens and Senators took their budding rivalry to a new level last spring when Ottawa won their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series in five games in the first modern postseason encounter between the teams.

Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said he welcomes the enhanced rivalry against a team that is a two-hour drive from Montreal.

OTTAWA -- In getting ready to face the Dallas Stars on Sunday, Ottawa Senators coach Paul MacLean is encouraged that some of his players started "digging in" during their last game, even though the Senators' winless streak reached four in a row.

Ottawa gave up a team-record 57 shots and blew a pair of two-goal leads in a 5-4 shootout loss against the New York Islanders on Friday. The Senators had a 4-2 lead against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday before losing 6-5.

"We didn't cave in and lose the game in regulation, so we got it to overtime and got it to a shootout, so that's what I mean by digging in," MacLean said prior to the game Sunday. "We didn't end up finding a way to lose the game in regulation. We found a way to dig in and at least we got something out of the game. [Sunday] we need to dig in here and find a way to win a game."

OTTAWA -- With Thomas Vanek's first game with the New York Islanders under his belt, he is feeling more and more at home with his new team.

Vanek will line up with John Tavares and Kyle Okposo again Friday against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre.

Acquired in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday, Vanek did not have a point in a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday in his Islanders debut.

"I've got a wife and three kids, so anytime you throw that in the equation it makes it a little bit harder, but I think this team is really close and they've taken me in and they're making each day more and more comfortable for me," said Vanek, who will play his 600th regular-season game Friday.