The Ducks have been outscored 27-6 during their five consecutive losses and are 2-13-4 since a 4-2 win at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 17. Goalie John Gibson will start for Anaheim; he is 0-3-0 with an .800 save percentage in his past three starts. Ottawa has been outscored 18-11 during its five-game losing streak after winning four of its previous five. The Senators will play the second of back-to-back games; they lost 5-4 at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. Goalie Anders Nilsson will start for Ottawa; he is 4-2-0 with a .936 save percentage in his past six starts. Craig Anderson played against Toronto.
Players to watch
Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past 18 games. Senators forward Matt Duchene has 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in his past 11 games.
They said it
"You notice when you go through things like this there are people doing things and trying to do too much, trying to do things that are out of character. That's a sign, when you're frustrated and you're lacking confidence, that you don't stay with the program." -- Ducks coach Randy Carlyle "We've been playing, like, 50 minutes really good the last couple games. We need 60 to win. It's a tough league." -- Senators forward Magnus Paajarvi
Holzer has returned home to Germany for personal reasons. … The Ducks recalled Welinski from San Diego of the America Hockey League.
Stat pack
The Senators are 4-13-1 since a 4-3 overtime win against the Nashville Predators on Dec. 17. … Dzingel has 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in his past 14 games.
