Panthers at Senators
The Florida Panthers failed to take advantage of their chance to gain ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race last time out, making their quest for a postseason berth more difficult. The Panthers give it another try when they continue their four-game road trip Thursday against the Ottawa Senators.
Florida fell into an early three-goal hole at Toronto on Wednesday and was unable to recover, dropping a 4-3 decision to remain three points behind New Jersey for the second wild-card spot with seven games remaining. Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice to end his seven-game drought for the Panthers, who rolled to a 7-2 victory in Ottawa on March 20. The Senators' losing streak reached six games with Tuesday's 4-3 home setback against the New York Islanders, which marked the fifth straight contest in which they allowed at least four goals. Bobby Ryan and Matt Duchene each recorded a goal and two assists for Ottawa, which is just three points ahead of last-place Buffalo in the East with six contests left.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Florida, TSN5, RDS (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (39-29-7): Henrik Borgstrom was a healthy scratch against Toronto but could make his NHL debut versus the Senators. The 20-year-old Finnish center, who was the 23rd overall pick in the 2016 draft and is a Top-10 finalist for the 2018 Hobey Baker Award after completing his sophomore season at the University of Denver, was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract on Monday. Aleksander Barkov remains one goal away from 100 for his career after his drought reached five games on Wednesday.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (26-39-11): Duchene's goal against the Islanders drew him within two of 200 in the NHL. The 27-year-old's three-point performance was his fourth of the season and fourth multi-point effort in his last nine games. Captain Erik Karlsson has collected four goals and 20 assists in 22 contests since last being kept off the scoresheet in consecutive games (Feb. 3 and 4).
OVERTIME
1. Senators LW Tom Pyatt has gone four games without a point, keeping him two shy of 100 for his career.
2. Florida D Keith Yandle, who has recorded 15 points in his last 14 contests, looks to extend the longest active consecutive games streak to 709 on Thursday.
3. Ottawa signed RW Andrew Sturtz, the all-time goals leader (54) in Penn State history, to a two-year, entry-level contract.