HURRICANES (16-15-4) at SENATORS (16-17-4)

TV: Fox Sports-Carolina, SNET-E.

Last 10: Carolina 5-4-1; Ottawa 5-3-2.

Season Series: This is the third of four meetings between the teams. After dropping a 3-2 decision on Oct. 14, Carolina responded with a 7-1 win against the Sens on Nov. 17 at the RBC Center.

Big Story: Both teams are showing signs of life and are within striking distance of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Carolina and Ottawa enter Wednesday's action six points behind the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens.

Team Scope:

Hurricanes: Patrick Dwyer scored the winner with just over five minutes remaining, and Eric Staal had two goals as Carolina ended a three-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory at Toronto on Tuesday night.

Jeff Skinner also scored for the Hurricanes, while Cam Ward stopped 34 shots.

"Our General Manager (Jim Rutherford) came in after the second period, and he wasn't very happy," Staal said. "He got the fire in everybody's gut. That doesn't happen often. When it does, it'll get you moving and it did tonight. We were better in the third and got a big goal by Dwyer to get the win."

Senators: Ottawa enters with hopes of a three-game winning streak. The Sens made it back-to-back victories on Sunday when they pulled off a 3-1 win against Pittsburgh at Scotiabank Place. Erik Karlsson had two goals and an assist to pace Ottawa.

"It was a very good win and we showed that we are still a very good team," Karlsson said.

Who's Hot: Staal now has two multi-goal performances in his last five games, while rookie Jeff Skinner has points in four of his last five contests. … Karlsson now leads the Senators with 23 points. 

Injury Report: Hurricanes forward Jiri Tlusty is out with an upper-body injury. … Sens forward Jason Spezza is out indefinitely after suffering a shoulder injury Sunday. Pascal Leclaire (lower body) and Brian Lee (ribs) are day-to-day.

Stat Pack: Staal now has 12 goals in 23 games against the Maple Leafs. … Mike Fisher of the Senators has blocked 47 shots this season, more than any other forward in the NHL.

Puck Drop: "We've done a pretty good job of staying in the fight. But at some point we have to get beyond that and get above treading water." -- Carolina coach Paul Maurice