Devils have Senators backed into a corner

OTTAWA -- When the Ottawa Senators ended their players-only meeting Sunday, Daniel Alfredsson couldn't wait to address the group of reporters gathered in the locker room.

"You ready?" the Ottawa captain asked, standing in front of his stall.

The real question: Are the Senators ready?

Ottawa faces elimination for the first time this postseason, trailing the New Jersey Devils 3-1 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals, with Game 5 at Ottawa tonight.

Alfredsson has been held to one assist against the Devils and was in the penalty box when New Jersey scored twice in its 5-2 victory Saturday. He put it upon himself to improve his play.

"I need to. There's no question about it," he said. "I can't look back."

And neither can the Senators, stymied by a more poised and opportunistic opponent. Ottawa's current three-game losing streak matches their longest slide of the entire season.

"We haven't been good enough," Alfredsson said. "There's no way around it. And we know that we have to get better. That's the challenge for us."

Ottawa also faces the challenge of overcoming its troubled playoff past. The Senators are in the conference finals for the first time in their 11-year history, after beating the New York Islanders in five games and the Philadelphia Flyers in six.

But the Senators are 0-6 in games in which they've faced elimination. The Devils, in comparison, have never lost a series -- 8-0 -- when holding a 3-1 lead.

Those are trends the Senators will be hard-pressed to reverse, considering the way New Jersey's playing.

The Devils are getting timely goals from role players: Checking forward Jay Pandolfo leads the team with three goals and five points against Ottawa. Martin Brodeur allowed a mere three goals on the last 83 shots he's faced.

"I guess we have taken control," Devils captain Scott Stevens said. "We are in pretty good shape, but we know that team is capable of putting a good string together and winning some games."

The Devils, who won the Stanley Cup in 2000, are on the verge of their third Stanley Cup finals appearance in four years.

The Anaheim Mighty Ducks await, having swept the Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference finals.

The Devils are making sure not to look too far ahead. They're aware that it's not impossible to rally from a 3-1 deficit, considering the Wild did it twice this year and New Jersey did it against Philadelphia three years ago in the conference finals.

"I look at them and I see what we accomplished in 2000," Brodeur said. "By experience we did it, so we know it's doable. And in these playoffs a lot of weird things have happened.

"So we're going to have to bear down and really be good."

For the Senators to come back, they'll have to correct several problems.

Their top offensive players -- Alfredsson, Marian Hossa, Martin Havlat and Todd White -- have combined for a goal and three assists.

Ottawa's defense has unraveled, allowing 10 goals in the last three games. Curiously, this came after the Senators set an NHL playoff record in allowing two or fewer goals in 11 straight games.