For just the second time this season, the Florida Panthers are in danger of losing three straight games.
However, they’ve fared well against the Ottawa Senators in recent years.
The visiting Panthers look to halt their mini-slide on Monday night, and keep the host Senators from getting back on track after their recent winning streak came to an end.
Florida averaged nearly four goals while winning six of seven before being outscored by a combined 6-1 in back-to-back home losses to Boston and Winnipeg during Thanksgiving week. It marked the first time since starting 0-2 that the Panthers have lost two in a row.
In Friday’s 3-0 loss to the Jets, Florida star Aleksander Barkov was back in the lineup after missing two games with a knee issue, and his team recorded 33 shots on goal. However, the Panthers were shut out for the first time since a season-opening 2-0 loss at Minnesota.
“(Winnipeg) obviously outplayed us in a lot of aspects of the game,” Panthers winger Ryan Lomberg said. “We’ve got to regroup and make sure we bring a better effort.”
Having a healthy Barkov (six goals, 11 assists in 2023-24) once again available following his knee-to-knee collision in a 2-1 victory at Anaheim on Nov. 17 certainly helps, even if the Panthers’ offense has essentially been stymied over the past two games.
“I was very happy to be back that quick,” said Barkov, who has 12 goals with 13 assists in 30 career games versus Ottawa.
Since March 20, 2018, Florida is 11-3-1 against the Senators. Prior to last season’s 5-2 loss at Ottawa, the Panthers also were amid a 6-0-1 road stretch in this series.
Brady Tkachuk scored for Ottawa in that victory against the Panthers. He registered an assist in Friday’s 5-3 loss to the New York Islanders that snapped the club’s second three-game winning streak of the season.
“I think we played the way we wanted to play, the way the coach wanted us to play, we had a chance to win,” said Ottawa star Tim Stutzle, who with a goal and an assist Friday has recorded seven of his team-leading 22 points in the past four games.
Stutzle, though, has just two goals without an assist in seven career games versus Florida.
With Ottawa’s Joonas Korpisalo (5-4-0, 3.17 goals-against average) day-to-day because of an undisclosed injury, teammate Anton Forsberg (3.51 GAA) could be back in net after stopping 21 of 26 shots versus New York.
Meanwhile, Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky has lost three of his past four starts, but owns a 2.56 goals-against average and .910 save percentage during that stretch. Panthers backup Anthony Stolarz has a 2.28 goals-against average while winning three of the four starts he’s made this season.
Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk will once again square off against his brother Brady.
Matthew is without a point in five consecutive games, but he’s posted four goals and six assists in his past six against the Senators. Brady, meanwhile, has three goals with an assist in six home games versus Florida.
–Field Level Media
