Panthers at Senators
Kevin Dineen became the second coaching casualty of the NHL season when he was fired by the Florida Panthers on Friday. Dineen, in his third season with the club, was let go one day after another lackluster performance by the Panthers - a 4-1 defeat in Boston that stretched Florida's winless streak to seven games (0-4-3). Peter Horachek, coach of the club's American Hockey League affiliate in San Antonio, was named interim coach and will be behind the bench for Saturday's game against the Senators in Ottawa.
The Senators have rebounded from a five-game skid (0-3-2) with back-to-back 4-1 victories over Columbus and Montreal as it prepares for the second contest of a five-game homestand that features three opponents with five wins or fewer. Ottawa got off to a bumpy start on a season-opening six-game road trip and also dropped five straight at home until knocking off the Canadiens on Thursday. The Senators won two of three meetings with the Panthers last season, allowing a combined three goals.
TV: 2 p.m. ET, FSN (Florida), RSN East, TVA (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (3-9-4): General manager Dale Tallon also fired assistant coaches Craig Ramsay and Gord Murphy and vowed there will be more changes if he doesn't see improvement from a team that has won once in its last 11 games (1-6-4). "It's easier to fire a coach than to fire 23 players," Tallon said. "Right now, I'm dissatisfied with the effort from most of the guys and we need to be better." Forward Jesse Winchester will miss Horachek's debut as he was suspended three games for elbowing Boston's Chris Kelly in the head on Thursday.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (6-6-4): With starting goaltender Craig Anderson sidelined with a head injury sustained in last Saturday's loss to Dallas, Robin Lehner has come up big by making 65 saves to earn his first two wins of the season. "I think the 'D' is helping me a lot to see pucks and boxing out," Lehner said. "I think we're getting a little better chemistry and it feels good." Bobby Ryan had a goal and two assists in the victory over Montreal to give him three tallies and six assists during a five-game point streak.
OVERTIME
1. Dineen was 58-62-28 in two-plus seasons and led Florida to its first playoff berth in 12 years in 2011-12.
2. Senators C Kyle Turris has two goals and six assists during a six-game point streak.
3. Horachek was an assistant coach for nine seasons with the Nashville Predators before taking the job with San Antonio.