Music: {allcanada} Sens waiting for the young guns

OTTAWA — When it was all over on Saturday night and the Boston Bruins were on their way home after a 4-0 victory, Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray walked down a hallway to his office.

Halfway there, he turned around and headed back to the exercise room, when he sought out Senators winger Nick Foligno (notes). Murray wanted to have a chat.

As he heads into his 12th game of the season on Tuesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Foligno is still looking for his first goal.

That's in stark contrast to his pre-season performance, when he raised expectations by produced four goals — on just eight shots — and two assists in six games.

With Milan Michalek (notes) sidelined while nursing his sore left knee, Foligno had been moved up to play with Daniel Alfredsson (notes) and Mike Fisher (notes). Call it a gentle nudge. Murray just wanted to remind him.

"All I told him was, 'Don't waste the opportunity of playing with good people,'" Murray said. "That's all. 'Take advantage of it.'"

Foligno is hardly the Senators' only early-season disappointment, however. Former linemate Peter Regin (notes) is in the same boat.

The 22-year-old Foligno and 24-year-old Regin were being counted on to provide secondary scoring to take some of the heat off the top line of Jason Spezza (notes), Alfredsson and Michalek.

So far, however, neither has been a factor. Their line might as well not even existed. It wasn't even until two games ago that their former linemate, Alex Kovalev (notes), scored his first goal. Maybe he was handicapped by playing with Foligno and Regin.

Like Foligno, Regin is still looking for his first goal and also has only three assists so far. He didn't even score a goal in the preseason, so his first goal of this season will be his first one since the 2010 National Hockey League playoffs.

This was hardly what anyone expected from a player who parlayed his three goal-one assist performance in six playoff games into a big raise: from $620,000 per season to a two-year deal worth $2 million.

So far, Senators coach Cory Clouston has been willing to cut Foligno and Regin some slack, but his patience appears to be flagging.

"They do have to start contributing offensively," he said.

"They have to start shooting the puck and getting into the paint and contributing in that area, for sure."

Clouston allows that maybe too much was made of Foligno's preseason success. That doesn't always translate into regular-season success since players are often in different roles and playing against teams that are far less than full NHL strength.

To Foligno, though, it was an indication of what he's capable of doing. He just has to figure out what he was doing right just a month ago.

"It is frustrating," he said.

"I want to be able to score for this team. I believe in myself, still. I'm not to the point where confidence is at an all-time low. I've got to make sure I'm putting myself into those areas that are allowing me to score goals. I want to help.

"It hurts more after a loss when you have some chances and maybe don't bury them, but they're coming. I'd be more mad if I didn't have chances, but I'm getting them.

"It's just a matter of bearing down, and I think it's going to be a matter of sooner rather than later."

Regin feels the same way. Now playing beside Kovalev and Spezza because of Michalek's injury, he has to get used to playing left wing instead of centre.

That can be disconcerting, Clouston said, and the key to getting Regin going might be finding him a comfortable home, but Regin said he was adaptable.

"That's what happens when guys get hurt, and, even when you lose, coaches change a little bit to try to mix it up," he said.

"So I have to find my role on different lines, but I'm fine with that. I'm enjoying the opportunity I'm getting with (Spezza). I like to play with him.

"You always want to score, but it's not the most important thing right now. It's turning this around. We had some good games earlier (last week). Who scored? The scorers don't matter, but obviously I want to score like everybody else. I think the team needs that so I'll have to try to score more goals."

Clouston and Murray would be grateful for the effort, especially with three tough games this week: on the road against division opponents Toronto on Tuesday and Montreal on Saturday, and one at home on Thursday against the New York Islanders.

The Senators are 25th in the 30-team NHL with their production of 2.36 goals per game, but preventing goals is just as important and Ottawa isn't doing that very well, either, ranking 24th in goals-against at 3.18 per game.

While netminders Brian Elliott (notes) and Pascal Leclaire (notes) have not been perfect, only a very charitable person would say any of the Senators defencemen have played well because they haven't.

Sergei Gonchar (notes) is an unflattering minus-seven. Chris Phillips (notes) is minus-five. Erik Karlsson (notes) is minus-four. Chris Campoli (notes) is minus-two.

Unless those four start to play better, what Foligno and Regin do might not matter.

Injury updates

Leclaire, on his way back from a groin injury, could serve as Elliott's backup on Tuesday against the Maple Leafs and could be in net on Thursday against the Islanders.

That would allow the Senators to get Robin Lehner (notes)'s $856,452 NHL salary off the books and get the Swedish rookie back to Binghamton of the American Hockey League, where he can start playing games.

Defenceman Filip Kuba (notes) (broken leg) could also return either Thursday or Saturday.

Michalek's status is uncertain. He's likely out through next weekend.