(My Sportsbook) - Coming off their best offensive performance of the season, the Chicago Blackhawks welcome the Ottawa Senators to town for tonight's clash at the United Center.

Currently second in the Central Division, the Blackhawks posted a 7-1 victory over visiting Phoenix on Sunday. It was their highest goal output since netting seven goals at Columbus on February 13 of last season.

Andrew Ladd had a career-high four points off a goal and three assists, while Ottawa native Ben Eager scored twice. Jonathan Toews, named the NHL's second star of the week on Monday, and Dave Bolland each had a goal and an assist, while Dustin Byfuglien and Patrick Sharp also scored.

Toews had four goals and two assists in three games last week to earn his honor.

Making his fifth straight start, Cristobal Huet made 20 saves in helping Chicago win for the second time in three games and improve to 8-1-4 at home. Huet has been manning the pipes full time with Nikolai Khabibulin nursing a groin injury.

Khabibulin could return tonight, though, and is 5-8-0 with two ties and a 3.31 goals against average in 16 starts versus Ottawa. Huet is 4-6-1 with a 3.54 GAA in 11 games against the Senators.

Chicago will be without rookie Kris Versteeg tonight due to an automatic one- game suspension he earned after drawing an instigator penalty with two seconds left in Sunday's game. Versteeg leads all rookies with 15 assists and is tied for the freshman lead in points with 22.

Former Senator and current Blackhawk forward Martin Havlat will face his old club for just the third time. He has one assist and zero goals against the team that picked him 26th overall in the 1999 draft. Havlat went on to post 235 points (105 goals, 130 assists) in 298 games with Ottawa before being dealt to Chicago in a six-player deal in the summer of 2006.

Ottawa had a two-game winning streak end with Monday's 4-3 overtime loss to Florida. After posting his second-career hat trick in the Sens previous game, Jason Spezza scored in the loss, as did Chris Kelly and Dany Heatley.

Ottawa's trio of Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson and Heatley have now accounted for 12 goals and 11 assists in the last six games. Spezza has five goals in his last three games.

Alex Auld turned aside 36 shots, but allowed the winning goal with 9.1 ticks left in overtime. Martin Gerber, who hasn't played since a loss to Carolina on November 7, will start tonight after Auld was in net for 11 straight. Gerber is 2-0-1 with a tie and 2.40 GAA in four starts versus Chicago.

Ottawa plays the first of back-to-back road games tonight and have lost six straight (0-4-2) as the visiting team to fall to 3-5-2 on the road this year.

The Blackhawks have won two straight and four of their last five versus the Senators. That includes two wins in a row in the Windy City.