(Sports Network) - The Ottawa Senators will try for their first win in two weeks when they invite the struggling Montreal Canadiens for tonight's Northeast Division matchup at Scotiabank Place.

The Senators have lost five straight contests since earning a 4-1 home victory over Philadelphia on November 6. The slide has helped place Ottawa last in the division and tied for the bottom spot in the Eastern Conference with 15 points.

Ottawa's last three setbacks have come against New York-area teams, as it was swept in a home-and-home series with the Islanders before losing a shootout decision to the Rangers on Monday at Madison Square Garden.

Nikolai Zherdev scored the lone shootout goal to help the Rangers earn the 2-1 decision over the Senators. However, Ottawa earned its first point in the loss since the win over the Flyers earlier this month.

Sens captain Daniel Alfredsson scored the lone goal in the recent loss, while Alex Auld turned in a solid performance, stopping 26-of-27 shots for Ottawa.

Tonight marks the opening test of a three-game homestand for the Senators, who are just 3-5-1 as the host this season.

The Canadiens, meanwhile, have picked up just two wins in their last seven games, going 2-4-1 over that stretch. Montreal was handed its third setback in four games Tuesday evening at Carolina as Ray Whitney's power-play goal in the third period lifted the Hurricanes to a 2-1 decision at the RBC Center.

Robert Lang scored the only goal for Montreal, while Carey Price was tremendous between the pipes with 46 saves in defeat.

The Habs were just 1-for-6 on the power play, but that goal marked the club's only tally with the man advantage in the last five games. Montreal is 1-for-26 on the power play over that stretch.

Montreal, which is 5-3-2 as the visitor this year, is wrapping a three-game road trip tonight. The Canadiens next two games will be on home ice, beginning with Saturday's matchup against Boston.

The Habs blanked Ottawa, 4-0, at the Bell Centre on November 11 to give Montreal its third straight win in the series. The Sens have still taken eight of 12 matchups with the Canadiens and they've also taken 10 of the last 13 encounters at Scotiabank Place.