Panthers at Senators
Mike Hoffman knows his franchise-record point streak will end one day, but he wants nothing more than to extend it at least one more game. Hoffman aims to land on the scoresheet for a 16th straight contest when the Florida Panthers continue their six-game road trip on Monday against his former team in the Ottawa Senators.
The 28-year-old Hoffman spent the first seven seasons of his NHL career with Ottawa after being selected in the fifth round of the 2009 draft but was traded to San Jose a month after a harassment scandal involving his fiance and the wife of a teammate became public in May. Hoffman was dealt to Florida by the Sharks soon after and has flourished, collecting eight goals and 10 assists during his 15-game streak after being blanked in his first two contests with Florida. The Panthers look to avoid a third straight loss and improve to 2-2-0 on their trek when they visit Ottawa, which has won three of four contests and two straight since falling 5-1 at Florida on Nov. 11. Matt Duchene recorded two goals and an assist while Mark Stone also scored twice on Saturday as the Senators withstood a third-period comeback attempt and posted a 6-4 victory over Pittsburgh.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Florida, TSN5, RDSI (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (7-7-3): Hoffman is tied for the team lead in both goals (eight) and points with Evgenii Dadonov, who has landed on the scoresheet in 13 of his last 14 games and 14 of 17 overall. Aaron Ekblad's season-opening 14-game goal-scoring drought has become a distant memory as the 22-year-old former Calder Trophy winner has netted a power-play tally in each of his last three contests. Ekblad is five goals away from tying Robert Svehla (61) for most by a defenseman in franchise history.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (9-8-3): Duchene has registered back-to-back multi-point performances and three in his last four games, collecting three goals and five assists in that span. The 27-year-old center, who leads the team with 24 points, recorded the 500th of his career in Saturday's win over the Penguins. Stone shares the team lead with Ryan Dzingel at nine goals as he aims for his fifth straight season with at least 20 and has notched at least one point in eight of his last nine games, registering five tallies and 10 assists in that stretch.
OVERTIME
1. Hoffman is the first player to record a point streak of at least 15 games in his first season with a team since Dany Heatley's 22-gamer with the Senators in 2005-06.
2. Ottawa D Thomas Chabot is tied with Stone for second on the team with 23 points - two shy of the career high he set last season.
3. Florida has scored a power-play goal in eight consecutive contests and is 10-for-27 with the man advantage over its last seven games.