Panthers at Senators
The Florida Panthers are doing their best to climb into a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and continue their quest Tuesday, when they visit the Ottawa Senators. Florida has earned points in 11 of its last 13 games (10-2-1) but sits three behind New Jersey for the second wild card, although it has two games in hand.
Roberto Luongo made 28 saves in Monday's 2-0 win at Montreal to help the Panthers record their third shutout in six contests while Aleksander Barkov scored his 26th goal to end his six-game drought and increase his team-leading point total to 71. The 22-year-old Finn is two tallies away from matching the career high he set in 2015-16 and one shy of 100 in the NHL. Florida is hoping to avenge a 5-3 home loss on March 12 to Ottawa, which had its three-game winning streak snapped with Saturday's 2-1 defeat in Columbus. Magnus Paajarvi and Matt Duchene each scored twice for the Senators in the win over the Panthers, with the latter's effort beginning his run of three straight two-point performances.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Florida, TSN5, RDS (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (36-27-7): Luongo's shutout Monday was his third of the season and the 76th of his career, tying him with Tony Esposito and Ed Belfour for ninth place on the all-time list. Vincent Trocheck was kept off the scoresheet in Montreal, ending a six-game point streak during which he registered four goals and five assists. The 24-year-old center leads the team with 28 goals, which is a career high, and ranks second with 66 points - also a personal best.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (26-34-11): Bobby Ryan remains one point shy of 500 for his career as he has been kept off the scoresheet in six straight contests. The 31-year-old right wing needs two goals to avoid finishing in single digits for the first time since his rookie season in 2007-08, when he recorded five in 23 games with Anaheim. Defenseman Erik Karlsson did not figure in the scoring Saturday, ending his string of three consecutive two-point performances.
OVERTIME
1. Panthers D Aaron Ekblad scored his 15th goal of the season Monday to match the career high he set in 2015-16 and extend his point streak to three games.
2. Ottawa LW Ryan Dzingel left Saturday's contest midway through the third period after being hit in the back of the head by a shot, but coach Guy Boucher believes he'll be in the lineup against the Panthers.
3. Florida D Alex Petrovic returned to the lineup Monday after missing two games with a lower-body injury and logged 11 minutes, 40 seconds of ice time.