A two-week road trip doesn't usually serve as a big motivator, but for the Senators it could represent a great chance to move in front in the Northeast Division.
An encounter with the surging Ducks could put a damper on those plans.
Ottawa aims for a sixth consecutive road win this afternoon against an Anaheim club that has points in seven straight.
The Senators have opened up a six-game swing with victories in Toronto and San Jose, making them 7-0-4 in their past 11 away from Ottawa. The Sens are coming off a 4-1 win at San Jose on Thursday, their sixth victory in seven games and 10th in the past 12 overall. Ottawa sits a point behind Boston for the top spot in the division and the Bruins are hosting the New York Rangers on Saturday.
Colin Greening scored twice versus the Sharks and Craig Anderson turned aside 36 shots. Kyle Turris and Erik Karlsson also scored in Ottawa's first win at San Jose since Oct. 18, 2003. The Sens will try to keep that momentum going as they stay out west in Anaheim, Los Angeles and Phoenix before a trip to Boston after hosting the All-Star Game.
"We're very confident right now. This shows we're a very good road team. You've got to be able to get points on the road, especially when we're coming on the West Coast," said Greening, who also gave a lot of credit to Anderson for the victory.
Daniel Alfredsson, who will serve as one of the captains for next weekend's All-Star Game, had an assist after notching a goal and a helper in Toronto.
Anaheim could end up being one of Ottawa's more difficult stops seeing as the Ducks have won three straight and are 6-0-1 in their past seven games. They picked up a fourth straight home win with Wednesday's 6-2 triumph over the Coyotes.
The third line of Jason Blake, Nick Bonino and Andrew Cogliano clicked versus Phoenix. Blake had a goal and an assist and Bonino and Cogliano ended with two assists each.
"Our third line has been very productive, and that's been vital to us," said defenseman Francois Beauchemin, who had a pair of goals and a helper to lead the offense from the blueline. "It's our defense, though, that has been playing very well. It all starts in the defensive zone. We create offense off our defense."
Niklas Hagman, Corey Perry and Matt Beleskey all lit the lamp for the Ducks, who are still 13 points out of a playoff spot. Jonas Hiller made 25 saves.
Anaheim, which is on its longest point streak since also going 6-0-1 from Nov. 3-14, 2010, earned a 2-1 shootout in Ottawa last year in the only meeting between the clubs. The Ducks have won four of their past five versus the Senators overall, but Ottawa is 4-2-0 with a pair of ties in its past eight trips to Anaheim.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.