Paul Maurice has shuffled forward lines, shortened his bench and sat players for brief periods in a failed attempt to get the Toronto Maple Leafs out of their funk.

So what's next? How about a blockbuster trade? Or is it time to summon a player or two from the minors? Not so fast, says the coach, whose team takes on the Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday night.

Maple Leafs goalie Jean-Sebastien Aubin blanked the Boston Bruins for more than two periods in his last start on Dec. 7.
(Dave Sandford/Getty Images)

He believes the players who have contributed to Toronto's current seven-game losing streak are the ones who should get the NHL team out of this mess.

"A [lineup] shakeup is an easy out," Maurice told reporters on Sunday. "I would like this group to stay just as it is.

"We're going to move ice time around and have different people get an opportunity they haven't. We will see [fourth-line forward] John Pohl play a little more, change the power-play units a little bit."

Elsewhere, the Ottawa Senators will attempt to end their three-game slide when they visit Detroit to face the unbeaten-in-three Red Wings.

Starting Tuesday, Maurice will begin rotating goaltenders, with Jean-Sebastien Aubin getting the call after Andrew Raycroft started 24 of the first 31 games.

"I liked most of his game in Boston [3-1 loss on Dec. 7]," said Maurice of Aubin, who blanked the Bruins for 50 minutes.

"I don't want this situation to weigh on just one of them. I know they're both good enough to carry it and find a way to get out of this as a team — not just one guy facing the results of the five guys [struggling] in front of him."

Raycroft was pulled in favour of Aubin to start the third period in Saturday's 5-1 loss in Detroit, but received little support from his teammates who handed the Wings' 27th-ranked power play 14 opportunities. They converted five of them.

A loss to Tampa Bay and the Leafs would match their worst losing streak of last season when they tumbled in January.

Toronto, which has slipped to fourth place in the Northeast Division with a 13-13-5 record, has been outscored 29-9 during its slide. But the Leafs have owned the Lightning at the Air Canada Centre, winning seven of the last eight meetings.

Facing former team

Jeff O'Neill, who has two points in his past seven outings, led Toronto with two assists in a 4-2 win over Tampa Bay on Nov. 1.

Leafs defenceman Pavel Kubina, who was a member of the Lightning's Stanley Cup championship team in 2004, missed that game with a knee injury but will play his old team for the first time Tuesday.

So how does Kubina feel you should approach a Lightning outfit that boasts Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis, each of whom has five power-play goals and more than 100 shots on goal?

"We have to make them play in their own zone, not ours," he said. "I think their weak spot is defensive more than offensive."

On the injury front, Leafs defenceman Carlo Colaiacovo will play his first game since last January, when he suffered a serious concussion in a game against Ottawa.

Tampa Bay (14-13-2) fell 4-3 to the Pacific Division-leading Anaheim Ducks on Saturday after throttling Atlanta 8-0 two nights earlier.

Hasek seeks revenge against Senators?

When the Ottawa Senators made their annual early exit from the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring, fingers immediately were pointed toward Dominik Hasek.

How injured was the veteran goaltender after spending the remainder of the regular season and playoffs on the sidelines with a groin injury sustained at the Torino Winter Olympics in February?

Ottawa management and coach Bryan Murray chose to head in another direction, leaving Hasek to seek employment elsewhere at age 41.

He opted to return to Detroit, where the 14-year NHLer has regained his form of 2001-02 when he won 41 games and posted a 2.17 goals-against average for the Central Division champions.

Hasek enters Tuesday's matchup against the Senators with a league-leading 1.84 GAA and is tied for fourth with 14 victories. He also shares top spot with four shutouts.

While Hasek might be getting the last laugh, he has no hard feelings toward the Senators.

"I was very disappointed when they didn't sign me," Hasek told the Detroit News on Monday. "However, there is not bitterness. I understood their situation. They wanted to go in a different direction.

Staying competitive

"I'm very happy I'm on this team and maybe it's the best thing that could have happened."

Red Wings fans certainly think so. They have watched their team remain competitive in the Western Conference, despite the loss of veteran forwards Brendan Shanahan (free agency) and Steve Yzerman (retirement) last off-season.

With three straight wins, Detroit (17-7-4) is one point behind Nashville for top spot in the Central.

On Saturday, Detroit notched five power-play goals in a 5-1 victory over Toronto to improve to 9-2-3 on home ice.

Conversely, Ottawa allowed five power-play goals — matching a franchise record — in Sunday's 6-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Ottawa (15-15-1) will be looking to halt a three-game losing skid that followed a stretch of eight wins in nine contests.

The Senators and Detroit are meeting for the first time since Oct. 11, 2003, when the Red Wings won 3-2 in overtime on the road. Detroit has prevailed in six of the last seven encounters.