Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson is optimistic about his chances of playing Tuesday night, saying he would not have made the trip to Philadelphia if there wasn't a legitimate chance he could suit up.

"It's been getting better every day," said Alfredsson of his undisclosed upper body injury. "I will skate tomorrow and hopefully play tomorrow night. I'm moving around much better every day, so that's why I decided to make the trip."

Alfredsson suffered the injury when he was checked from behind into the boards by Dallas forward Jere Lehtonen in the second period of Saturday night's 5-4 Ottawa win. The Senators captain said he will make a definitive decision on his playing status after the club's 11:30 a.m. morning skate at Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

Forward Dany Heatley, who missed Monday's practice due to the flu, did make the trip to Philadelphia and head coach Craig Hartsburg is hopeful that he will be able to suit up against the Flyers.

However, the news does not appear as promising for defenseman Filip Kuba. He will miss Tuesday's game with what appears to be a groin injury sustained at the start of overtime Saturday night. Hartsburg did not give a long-range prognosis on Kuba, only stating that he will miss the trip to Philadelphia.

Forward Ilya Zubov has sorted out his visa issues and was able to travel with the team. The Russian rookie was unable to travel with the team to New Jersey last week because his travel documents were not updated.

Dean McAmmond also traveled with the team and will be available to play his first game in nearly a month, after missing significant time with pneumonia.