"There's still four games ahead of us, four very tough games," Panthers defenseman Radko Gudas said. "We're in control, so that's what we want to do. We'll be ready for [today's] game."
Oddly enough, it was the Senators that handed the Panthers their last loss.
Prior to ripping off consecutive wins against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Columbus Blue Jackets and Buffalo Sabres, they suffered a 5-2 loss at Ottawa on March 27.
In that loss, Gustav Forsling scored a pair of goals, including one in the third period that cut Florida's deficit to 3-2 with more than 10 minutes left on the clock. But after Tim Stützle lit the lamp on the power play to put the Senators up 4-2 at 17:37, the game was put out of reach.
Despite giving up three goals on the power play, the Panthers really liked their game a 5-on-5 in Ottawa as the finished with lopsided advantages in shot attempts (50-25), shots on goal (28-14), scoring chances (20-10) and high-danger shot attempts (11-2), per NaturalStatTrick.com.
"I liked our game against Ottawa at 5-on-5 as much as any of the last four after that," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "We were good there. Special teams are a real key piece. Staying out of the penalty box is important. They have a very strong power play and an awful lot of skill."
Starting each game during Florida's four-game winning streak, Alex Lyon stopped 39 of 40 shots to backstop the Panthers to victory against Buffalo on Tuesday. Chipping in on offense, Matthew Tkachuk and Aaron Ekblad each scored, while Brandon Montour had two assists.
Just two points shy of reaching a new career-high. Tkachuk leads the Panthers with 103 points (39 goals, 64 assists). Having already posted the highest-scoring season ever by a defenseman in franchise history, Montour paces the team's blueliners with 67 points (14 goals, 53 assists).
Set to man the crease against Ottawa, Lyon owns a .959 save percentage in his last four starts.
"There are certain things you shouldn't overthink -- efficiency and effectiveness," Maurice said when asked about Lyon. "Does he get it done? He's getting it done. You value that. The name's aren't important, the numbers right now are. Are you making saves and getting wins? He is."
Not yet eliminated but in need of a miracle to make it to the postseason, the Senators have lost each of their last three games to fall to 37-34-7 in the standings. In their last outing on Tuesday, they suffered a 3-2 overtime loss against the Carolina Hurricanes -- their second straight OTL.
Claude Giroux and Brady Tkachuk each scored for Ottawa against the Hurricanes, while Leevi Merilainen stopped 34 of 37 shots in his NHL debut. After allowing two goals in the first period, the 20-year-old seemed to find his groove until getting beat by Martin Necas in the extra frame.
Taking a huge step forward this season, Stützle leads the Senators in goals (37), assists (47) and points (84). Not to be outdone by his older brother on the Panthers, Tkachuk ranks second in all three of those categories, racking up 35 goals and 44 assists for a career-high 79 points.
Yet to announce a starting goaltender, the Senators will either go back to Merilainen or turn to veteran Cam Talbot. In 35 appearances this season, Talbot has posted a 16-14-2 record with a .900 save percentage. In his career against Florida, he's gone 7-5-0 with a .918 save percentage.
Over their past 12 head-to-head meetings, the Panthers have gone 9-3-0 against Ottawa.
"We've been trying to have a playoff mentality for the last month," Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling said. "We're feeling good. We feel that we're finding our game right now and we're ready to peak."
