OTTAWA – The Florida Panthers will kick off a run of three straight road games within the division with a matchup against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Monday.
Entering tonight’s tilt, the Panthers sit second in the Atlantic Division at 12-7-1.
“We’re excited for the challenge,” Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling said following this morning’s skate. “It’s going to be fun with the three games coming up here, division games. We’re excited and we want to get back to playing the right way.”
Winners in seven of their last 10 games, the Panthers are looking to get back to their winning ways after closing out their homestand with two straight defeats. Following a 3-1 loss to the Bruins on Wednesday, they were held off of the scoresheet in a 3-0 loss to the Jets on Friday.
“I don’t look at the last two losses as connected,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “We played a heck of a game against Boston. We were awful against Winnipeg. They were good and deserved to win. We want to make sure our last game was the one of 20. Hopefully you keep it to two a year like that and we go back to playing the game that we played prior to the Winnipeg game.”
Although the goals dried up a bit in those two games, the defense has remained strong.
Since Nov. 6, Florida is allowing the seventh-fewest goals per game in the NHL (2.70).
“I think we’ve still got a little bit to go, but overall we’ve been doing good,” Forsling said.
Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers in goals (13) and points (25). Tied for second, Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk have each amassed 17 points. Additionally, Carter Verhaeghe (15), Evan Rodrigues (13) and Oliver Ekman-Larsson (11) have double-digit point totals.
Picking up the win in six of his last nine starts, Sergei Bobrovsky will man the crease tonight for the Cats.
The Senators are still playing catch-up in terms of games played with the rest of the Atlantic Division. Sitting at 8-8-0, they’ve played just three games since Nov. 12 after traveling overseas to play a pair of games in Sweden earlier this month as part of the NHL’s annual Global Series.
After beating the Red Wings (5-4 OT) and Wild (2-1 SO) in Sweden, the Senators suffered a 5-3 loss to the Islanders in their first game back in North America on Friday. Despite playing with just four defensemen for the majority of the game, New York managed to best Ottawa behind a three-goal flurry in the second period.
Drake Batherson scored twice in the loss, while Anton Forsberg made 21 saves.
“You have to forecheck, you have to take the walls away,” Senators head coach D.J. Smith told reporters after the loss to the Islanders. “We did it for a stretch in the second period, but not enough and when we made mistakes, it ended up in the net."
With four multi-point performances in his last six games, Tim Stützle leads Ottawa in scoring with 22 points (five goals, 17 assists). Claude Giroux ranks second with 16 points (five goals, 11 assists), while Brady Tkachuk and Mathieu Joseph are locked in a tie for third with 15 points each.
Tkachuk also leads the Senators with 10 goals.
“They’re really skilled,” Forsling said of Ottawa, which is averaging 3.69 goals per contest. “They’ve got quick forwards. For our D, we’ve got to be gapped up and be ready for them.”
Forsberg has started each of the last two games, but Joonas Korpisalo has seen the bulk of the time between the pipes for Ottawa. Korpisalo has gone 5-4-0 with a .906 save percentage in 11 appearances, while Forsberg has gone 3-4-0 with a .850 save percentage in seven appearances.
Dealing with an injury, Korpisalo (game-time decision) could get the nod in net tonight.
The Panthers came out on top in two of their three meetings with the Senators in 2022-23.
Brandon Montour led all skaters with seven points (two goals, five assists) in the season series, while Matthew Tkachuk posted five points (one goal, four assists) and a +5 rating. In 18 career head-to-head matchups between the two brothers, Matthew leads Brady 20-11 in total points.
“We need these points,” Forsling said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
PREGAME QUOTES
“It’s been good. With the people that we had out, we’ve had really good performances. Now our depth becomes stronger because of that. We got some guys back. I think we handled that part. I think systematically we’re quite a bit further ahead of where we were last year at this time.” – Paul Maurice on where the Panthers stand at the 20-game mark of the season
“It’s a real tough division. It’s been a lot of fun to play against tough teams. That’s what you want to prepare yourself for the playoffs.” – Gustav Forsling on the Atlantic Division
“It’s definitely an important road trip. We’ve got divisional games against three strong teams. We’re excited for it, we’re prepared for it and we know how important this is. … We’ve got to play harder. For us right now, just keep it simple really.” – Sam Bennett on a big week for the Cats
FIVE CATS STATS
- The Panthers are 8-for-8 on the penalty kill over their last three games.
- Aleksander Barkov boasts a +14 rating over 30 career games against Ottawa.
- Since the start of the 2022-23 season, Matthew Tkachuk has posted 40 multi-point games.
- The Panthers are 4-1-0 when Oliver Ekman-Larsson scores a goal this season.
- Florida ranks fourth in the NHL with 66.07 shot attempts per 60 minutes at 5-on-5.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Evan Rodrigues – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Nick Cousins
Jonah Gadjovich – Kevin Stenlund – Ryan Lomberg
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola - Brandon Montour
Oliver-Ekman Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Nov. 25: D Mike Reilly claimed off waivers by the New York Islanders
- Nov. 17: F Jonah Gadjovich recalled from AHL conditioning assignment
- Nov. 17: D Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour activated off injured reserve
HOW TO WATCH
When: Monday, Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Canadian Tire Centre – Ottawa, ON
TV & Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports+
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM App & Streaming 932; Panthers App
