GAME: Pittsburgh Penguins (8-18-4-3) at Ottawa Senators (16-10-4-3).

TIME: Friday, 7:30 p.m. EST.

The Ottawa Senators hope to extend their unbeaten streak to a season-high five games as they take on the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.

After a surprising start to the season with just nine wins in their first 22 games (9-8-2-3), the Senators have steadily climbed back up the standings by going 7-2-2 in December.

Ottawa, tied for second in the Northeast Division with Boston, is 3-0-1 in its last four, including Tuesday's 2-2 tie with the Buffalo Sabres.

The Senators rallied from a two-goal deficit with late second-period goals by Todd White and Antoine Vermette.

"We were fortunate to get those two late goals to pull even for the third," White said. "We didn't have a good first 30 minutes so to be tied at 2 was fortunate."

Ottawa has allowed three goals or fewer in each of its last 14 games, a streak that should not end against the Penguins, who are tied for last in the NHL with 23 points. Their 70 goals are second-fewest in the Eastern Conference, ahead of only Carolina (61).

The Penguins have lost three straight, including Monday's 4-1 defeat to the Montreal Canadiens.

Tomas Surovy scored the lone goal for Pittsburgh, which was outshot 37-17.

"For a lot of games this year, we've really given up a lot of shots," Penguins center Brian Holzinger said. "We're not happy with the amount of shots that we gave up here tonight, obviously. When we're playing at our best, we're playing good solid defense and limiting those shots and trying to capitalize on the offensive opportunities we get."

Pittsburgh has lost nine in a row on the road, dating to a 2-1 win at Buffalo on Nov. 14. This marks the team's longest road losing streak since dropping a franchise-record 18 straight away from home during the 1982-83 season.