Panthers at Senators
THE STORY: The Ottawa Senators seem to have figured out how to
play some defense over the last week, and it has resulted in three
straight wins. Last in the NHL with an average of four goals allowed, the
Senators have tightened the penalty kill from hideous to slightly below
average over the past three contests while keeping their power-play
unit tops in the league. The Florida Panthers have a similar split on
special teams, ranking fifth in power-play percentage but 26th
on the penalty kill. The Panthers have been able jump out to a strong
start this season thanks to the solid goaltending tandem of Jose
Theodore and Jacob Markstrom and a balanced offense led by Kris
Versteeg. Florida will be looking to extend its own winning streak to
three games when it visits Ottawa on Thursday.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSFL (Florida), RSNO (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (5-3-0): After going scoreless in back-to-back
losses last week, Florida sent veteran left wing David Booth to the
Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Mikael Samuelsson and Marco Strum. The
deal seemed to wake up the team, which went on to beat the New York
Islanders, 4-2, later that night and pulled out a 2-1 triumph over
Montreal on Monday.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (4-5-0): Ottawa is converting an NHL-best 31.3
percent of its power-play opportunities, including 3-of-3 in the last
two games and 4-of-7 during its current winning streak. After stopping
just 64.5 percent on the penalty kill in the first six games, the
Senators have snuffed out 10-of-12 over the last three. They almost let
one slip away on Tuesday, blowing a 2-0 lead in the last five minutes
against Carolina, but recovered to gain a 3-2 shootout victory.
OVERTIME:
1. Ottawa has won the last six meetings by an average of 2.3 goals.
2. Jason Spezza has 25 points - eight goals - in 29 career games against the Panthers.
3. Samuelsson is still in Vancouver and has yet to play this season due to a sports hernia.
PREDICTON: Ottawa 3, Florida 1. History says the Senators have the Panthers’ number.