"Every point counts now," Panthers forward Anthony Duclair said. "Same thing for the other side. We're going to make sure we come out motivated and excited. I'm sure they will, too. It's going to be a heavy matchup, and we're ready for it."
Closing out their homestand, the Panthers let an early 2-0 lead slip through their fingers in a 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday. Extending his point streak to 10 games, Aleksander Barkov found the back of the net twice in the loss, while Sergei Bobrovsky, who will man the crease again in Ottawa, turned aside 38 of 42 shots in net.
Matthew Tkachuk, who had his point streak snapped at eight games against New York, leads the Panthers and ranks tied for fourth in the NHL in scoring with 97 points (35 goals, 62 assists). In 20 career games against the Senators, the 25-year-old has tallied six goals and 13 assists.
Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe are tied for second on the Panthers in scoring with 66 points, while Verhaeghe has scored a team-high 36 goals, with 29 of them coming at even strength.
Sam Bennett, who's posted 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists) in 63 games, will miss his fourth straight game for the Panthers while dealing with an injury. In his place, second-year pro Anton Lundell will slide up the depth chart and take his place in the middle of the team's second line between Verhaeghe and Tkachuk.
"We haven't been able to generate what we've needed, so it's Anton's turn," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of Lundell, who's logged 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) during his sophomore season in the NHL. "It's his second full year in the National Hockey League, and we need him to take that. Sam Bennett does some unusual things on that line. He adds speed to Verhaeghe, which Tkachuk needs, and he's got the grit and the bite in the game that Verhaeghe needs. We need Anton to come in and fill that role."
Falling out of the playoff race, the Senators currently sit at 35-33-5 in the standings after dropping seven of their last nine games. During that nine-game stretch, they've surrendered at least five goals five times, including a 5-3 loss at New Jersey in their last outing on Saturday.
After trailing 3-1 against the Devils, Thomas Chabot and Mark Kastelic each scored for the Senators in the second period to make it 3-3. But after Dougie Hamilton scored to put New Jersey up 4-3 early in the third period, Tomas Tatar buried a late empty-netter to make it 5-3.
Taking off during his third season in the NHL, Tim Stützle leads Ottawa in scoring with 81 points (35 goals, 46 assists), while Brady Tkachuk, Matthew's younger brother, is second with 75 points (33 goals, 42 assists). In third, Claude Giroux has accumulated 70 points (28 goals, 42 assists).
In the first installment of the "Battle of the Tkachuks" this season, Matthew recorded a goal and two assists to help lead the Panthers to a 5-3 win in Sunrise on Oct. 29. At the other end of the ice, Brady lit the lamp once. In 14 career meetings, Matthew has come out on top eight times.
Starting eight of the last 11 games, rookie goaltender Mads Sogaard could potentially man the crease against the Panthers. In 14 appearances this season, the 22-year-old, who towers between the pipes at 6-foot-7, has posted a 6-5-2 record with a .890 save percentage.
Overall, the Panthers have won each of their last four games against the Senators.
With just nine games left to play, they know they need to make that five in a row tonight.
"This is the exciting time," Maurice said. "These are the games where you want to be at your best. This is where everybody's watching in Florida and Ottawa and probably five other cities. We're all watching each other now. You want to be at your best. You want to be that guy that played his best game under the most pressure."
