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Last 10 -- Ottawa 6-4-0; St. Louis 5-4-1

Season series -- This is the only meeting of the season between the two clubs. The Senators won 3-2 in their only matchup last season in Ottawa.

Big story -- The streaky Senators have lost three of four after winning four in a row. The Blues opened the season 9-1-2, but have lost five in a row and have been outscored 28-12 in the process.

Team Scope:

Senators -- Ottawa was blown out 7-1 by the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday, as the Senators fell behind 4-0 in the first period.

But there was a reason for the lopsided defeat.

The Senators delayed their trip to Raleigh, N.C., to attend a memorial service earlier in the day in for the daughter of Ottawa assistant coach Luke Richardson, who died last Friday. The Senators didn't arrive in Raleigh until Wednesday afternoon.

"We went through a lot today," defenceman Chris Phillips said, "and couldn't get the job done.

"It was pretty much the worst-case scenario. We wanted to win this game for so many reasons. A couple early mistakes and lost battles and before we knew it, we were down 4-0."

Blues -- After allowing 17 goals in 12 games, the Blues have seen their defence fall apart. They enter Friday's game coming off a 7-3 loss to the Red Wings on Wednesday.

"It's a tough question to answer," Blues goaltender Jaroslav Halak said of the five-game losing streak. "If we knew the answer, we wouldn't be losing games."

St. Louis will go with backup Ty Conklin in goal tonight.

Who's hot -- Senators defenseman Filip Kuba has two assists in three games after missing the start of the season with a broken leg … Blues centre Andy MacDonald has points in four straight games, totaling two goals and six assists.

Injury report -- The Senators are about as healthy as any team in the NHL … Defencemen Roman Polak and Barret Jackman, along with forwards T.J. Oshie and David Perron, are out for the Blues.

Stat pack -- The Senators are 4-2-0 in their last six road games … The Blues have allowed six power-play goals in their last 15 shorthanded situations.

Puck drop -- "It’s a terrible end to a terrible day. There’s no excuse. We wanted to play really well due to the circumstances, but we didn’t. It’s been a hard day. That’s a tough way to get embarrassed ... we can bounce back.” -- Jason Spezza to the Ottawa Sun after Wednesday's loss.