"Two days past his 38th birthday, Daniel Alfredsson takes the longest slump of his 15-year National Hockey League career into Monday night's game against the Atlanta Thrashers. It has been 10 games since Alfredsson recorded a point. That he is still the team's leading scorer with eight goals and 10 assists tells you how bad everyone else on the Senators roster has been. No career years here, as centre Mike Fisher joked darkly on Sunday. However, with his birthday coinciding with his slump, the inevitable question is certain to be raised: Is age catching up to Daniel Alfredsson? The obvious answer is: Of course. The NHL is no place for old men. Even if he remains among the Senators' top two or three players, Alfredsson doesn't have the jump, the explosive power, he once had, slowed by numerous groin injuries over the years. A perfect illustration of that came about halfway through Thursday's game against the New York Rangers, when a turnover sent Alfredsson out of the Ottawa zone on a break. The old Alfredsson would have been off to the races. It wouldn't have even been close. This time, however, he couldn't pull away fully from the pursuing Rangers defenceman. As Alfredsson crossed the New York blue line, he slowed and looked for someone to pass to. The play ended up going nowhere. Alfredsson says he doesn't feel any different as a player this season. He knows the questions will be asked, and he's OK with that. Age isn't what's bothering him. What is bothering him is that he's one of the players being paid to produce offensively and isn't, and losing always makes everything look worse." Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/hockey/ottawa-senators/catching Alfie/3966158/story.html
