Skidding Senators brace for tall task vs. Hurricanes

The Ottawa Senators may be running out of time as they run into one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.

The Senators do have a plan for Sunday's game against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes.

"Simplify and try to work a little harder," Ottawa forward Shane Pinto said. "Yeah, (Sunday) is a big game. Everybody knows the magnitude of these games."

The Senators (39-27-10, 88 points) have lost four of their last five games as they compete with a few other teams for one of the last playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. They dropped a 4-1 decision to the visiting Minnesota Wild on Saturday afternoon.

There's little room for error on the part of Ottawa.

"With some of our injuries, we've got to be spot-on," Senators coach Travis Green said.

The Hurricanes have played several desperate teams recently and they find benefits in that.

"When you play teams that are kind of on that bubble, it's good for you to prep for the playoffs," Carolina forward Seth Jarvis said.

The Hurricanes (49-21-6, 104 points) already have secured a playoff spot and are one point away from clinching the Metropolitan Division title.

"We all know that the prize is still out there," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said of the postseason ahead. "This basically qualifies you to go after it."

They've won four of their last five games, including Saturday night's 4-3 home victory against the New York Islanders. In their last two games combined, the Hurricanes have allowed opponents to put only 26 shots on goal.

"That was pretty impressive," Brind'Amour said. "I think our guys played the way we want them to."

Green said there were uncharacteristic defensive lapses from the Senators in Saturday's game against Minnesota.

"That's easy to say, 'Play with urgency,'" Green said. "Our guys are trying. Our guys want to win. They want to win bad."

A clunky power play didn't help matters for the Senators.

"Their execution can probably be better," Green said. "We've got to learn from the game, and we've got another game (Sunday). That's the great part of this season, a lot of games coming, a lot of games that matter and we've got to respond (Sunday)."

The Hurricanes have been strong on special teams. They've notched a league-high 12 short-handed goals this season, including one in each of the past three contests.

Jarvis had two goals Saturday, pushing his team-leading total to 32.

"I've had a lot of chances, but to see it go in is huge," Jarvis said after ending his three-game goal drought.

Ottawa had defenseman Jake Sanderson back in the lineup for the first time in nearly a month. He said he was a little rusty but is determined to make an impact.

"I think this time of the year everybody is playing with some sort of injuries," Sanderson said.

Carolina will have goalie Frederik Andersen back in net after Brandon Bussi worked Saturday night.

Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho is riding a five-game point streak (one goal, five assists).

Carolina's visit marks the third game in Ottawa's five-game homestand.