Panthers Return Home For Division Battle With Ottawa
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SUNRISE (CBSMiami/SportsDirect) – Things are looking up for the Florida Panthers but they will need to continue on that track to keep pace in a tight Atlantic Division.
The Panthers revived their season with an impressive 4-1-0 road trip and look to translate that into success at home when they host the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.
The Panthers allowed a total of four goals while knocking off Detroit, St. Louis, Nashville and Columbus before dropping a 4-2 decision at New Jersey on Sunday despite owning a 36-18 shot advantage.
"Unfortunately, you're only as good as your last game, so we're not real happy right now," Florida goaltender Roberto Luongo told the Miami Herald. "All in all, we did a good job and now need to get home and get back up on the saddle. We have a few big games coming up."
The Panthers are 6-5-2 on home ice and will get a test from the offensively gifted Senators, who have five players with at least 22 points.
Craig Anderson has started 11 straight games for Ottawa and is 11-4-1 lifetime against Florida with a .936 save percentage.
The Senators gave up two power-play goals in a 4-1 road loss to the New York Rangers on Sunday to start a four-game trip.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, TSN5, RDS (Ottawa), FSN Florida
ABOUT THE SENATORS (14-8-5): It's been a tiring stretch for Ottawa, which has dropped three of its last five games, and it will play every other day until the Christmas break.
The Senators stood fifth in the league in scoring through Sunday (3.07 goals per game), with talented defenseman Erik Karlsson (32 points) leading the way.
Karlsson leads all NHL blue-liners in scoring while Mike Hoffman is tied with Bobby Ryan for second on the team with 26 points after posting 12 in his last eight games.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (13-10-4): Jonathan Huberdeau could be finding his scoring touch after notching two of his three goals on the season in the last three games.
Huberdeau was reunited with linemates Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr and is tied for third on the team with Vincent Trocheck at 15 points overall.
Jagr recorded two assists Sunday and has posted a team-best 20 points but has gone seven games without a goal as he remains one shy of Marcel Dionne (731) for fourth place on the all-time list.
OVERTIME
- Florida C Nick Bjugstad (upper body) has missed the last four games and is questionable for Tuesday.
- Ottawa C Kyle Turris played his 288th consecutive game Sunday despite being helped from the ice the night before after suffering an ankle injury.
- The Panthers have won four of the last six meetings after the teams split four contests in 2014-15.
The Panthers face the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, December 8th at 7:30 p.m. You can hear every game on Sports Radio 560 WQAM, the radio home of the Florida Panthers.
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