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(SportsNetwork.com) - Tired of not getting positive results, the underachieving Ottawa Senators held a players-only meeting on Monday. On Tuesday, well see if the get-together pays immediate dividends when captain Jason Spezza and the Senators visit the Chicago Blackhawks for a battle at the United Center. Spezza, who is in his first season as captain following the departure of Daniel Alfredsson to Detroit, called the meeting and said the team had a dialogue for about 35 minutes. Count head coach Paul MacLean among those who think the meeting could help his team find its way after a 4-5-2 start to the season. "I think any time youre talking about things and finding solutions when you work in a group I think its a good thing and a positive thing, trying to find solutions," MacLean told the media after Mondays practice. The Senators enter Tuesday having lost two straight and three of their last four games. Since beating the Detroit Red Wings by a 6-1 score last Wednesday in the Motor City, Ottawas offense has been an issue as the club has managed just three goals over their past two games. After dropping a 2-1 regulation decision Friday against the visiting Anaheim Ducks, the Senators were handed a 5-2 defeat in Sundays home test against the San Jose Sharks. Ottawa did manage to fire 40 shots on goal against the Sharks, but San Jose goaltender Alex Stalock, making his first NHL start, turned away 38 of them. "Right now its not going our way, its just something you have to fight through," Senators forward Kyle Turris said. Craig Anderson allowed all five goals on 29 shots for the Senators in the loss. Ottawa will try to get on track tonight against a Chicago club it has little success against in recent years. The Blackhawks have won two straight, five of six and seven of the past nine meetings between the clubs and the Sens have lost four in a row in Chicago. The last time Ottawa won a game in the Windy City was back on March 28, 2001, when the Sens notched a 5-2 win. Chicago, the defending Stanley Cup champions, is coming off a 5-1 rout of the Minnesota Wild on Monday. The Blackhawks won the road portion of the home-and- home series after losing Saturdays 5-3 decision against the Wild in Chicago Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad each tallied a goal and an assist to help the Blackhawks halt a two-game losing streak. Nick Leddy, Patrick Sharp and Sheldon Brookbank added a goal apiece for the Blackhawks. "I liked the results of everybody tonight," Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville said. "I thought we had a very business-like approach to the game, played with a purpose and got some contributions across the board." Corey Crawford turned away 29 shots in the triumph and he could get the start Tuesday on back-to-back nights. Centerman Michal Handzus is expected to miss a third straight game for Chicago with an upper-body injury. George Blanda Youth Jersey .75 million contract for the 2014 season and avoided arbitration. The team announced the agreement on Tuesday. Otis Sistrunk Youth Jersey . The Blue Jackets announced the injury through their official Twitter account Friday afternoon. Gaborik, 31, has scored five goals and six assists in 17 games with the Blue Jackets in 2013-14. http://www.shoptheraidersonline.com/Elit...Raiders-Jersey/. -- C.J. Wilson parked his car and laughed while signing autographs for faceless fans who handed bats, balls and cards to the pitcher from the other side of a brick wall. Dave Casper Raiders Jersey . It was the start of one nice night for the goalie and the Minnesota Wild. Backstrom made 33 saves in his first win of the season and the Wild defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 on Saturday in a rematch of their first-round playoff series. Isaiah Johnson Jersey . I wondered how NHL coaches would feel about a playoff schedule that allowed them to open a best-of-seven series on the road, which many claim to favour, yet still gave them the precious home-ice edge for a seventh game.In terms of actual money, no member of the Ottawa Senators is being paid more this season than Milan Michalek. The winger is making $6 million in 2013-14 – although his cap hit is only $4.3 million. He is in the final year of a back-loaded deal he signed with the San Jose Sharks prior to the 2008-09 season. Michalek has only three goals in 18 games so far this season and is sporting a team-worst minus-seven rating. Prorated over the course of a full season, this would translate into just 14 goals and mark the worst offensive output of his NHL career. In the 2011-12 campaign, Michalek led the Sens with a career-high 35 goals and was one of their most consistent players. But this year, Michalek is like many other players on the roster who is struggling to find his game. "I know I havent been good. I have to be better and everyone is expecting me to score," Michalek told a handful of reporters on Thursday. "Its frustrating right now and hopefully its going to turn around soon." If there is a silver lining to Michaleks woes its that he has been able to stay healthy so far. He missed 25 games with a knee injury last season and clearly wasnt 100 per cent when he returned in time to play in the playoffs. Michalek went overseas in the summer to undergo blood serum therapy for his injured knee and he reiterated on Thursday that he is not suffering from any type of physical ailment that is affecting his production. When the Senators acquired Michalek back in the fall of 2009, he was the centerpiece in a forced deal with the Sharks that saw Dany Heatley head to the west coast. And the Sens have never regretted the trade, considering that Michalek has been the consummate professional and teammate since joining the team. He can play in all situations and has been a consistent performer when he has been able to stay healthy. Since the deal was made, Heatley has averaged 0.34 goals-per-game while Michalek has been right behind with a 0.33 mark. A big reason for Michaleks success has been the chemistry he has formed with Jason Spezza. But this season, Ottawas formerly dynamic duo has failed to generate many opportunities at even-strength. Even Michalek cant explain why he and Spezza cant seem to click this season. "I dont know the difference this year - if I did it would be good. You just have to work hard and hope things willl come around soon," he said.dddddddddddd The 28-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July and he couldnt have picked a worse time to go into a slump. The Senators have already stated they are a budget team that will stay well below the cap, so its hard to imagine a scenario where Michalek can come back next season making anything close to $4 million. The club also has to deal with several contracts that are set to expire in the next 18 months or so, including: Spezza, Chris Phillips, Bobby Ryan, Clarke MacArthur and Craig Anderson. Where does Michalek fit on that priority list? Its hard to say, but his slow start to the season isnt helping his cause. "Im just trying not to think about it. Well see what happens in the future," Michalek said when asked if the pressure of playing in the final year of his contract was a factor in his slow start. In the past, Bryan Murray has not traded away his veteran players who were set to become unrestricted free agents when his team was in a playoff race. We could all see the writing on the wall that Filip Kuba was not coming back after the 2011-12 season, but the Sens hung onto him for the playoff run and then watched him sign with Florida as a free agent. The same scenario played out last season with Sergei Gonchar, who stayed with the team past the trade deadline even though he was set to become an unrestricted free agent. Murray eventually found a taker for Gonchar in early June, but he only received a conditional sixth-round pick in return. Even going further back, Murray ended up hanging onto Anton Volchenkov and Wade Redden in seasons where they ended up walking as UFAs. So what will they do with Michalek this season? A lot depends on the teams performance in the next 6-to-8 weeks. If they are out of the playoff race, we could see a similar situation to what played out in 2010-11, when Murray shipped off several veterans around the trade deadline. If Michalek is healthy, surely someone will take a chance on him and his expiring contract. But if the Sens are in the playoff race, Murray has shown a reluctance to move any of his key pieces – even though they have the ability to walk at the end of the year. Of course