Panthers Fall to Senators 6-2
SUNRISE, Fla. — Nothing brings out the best in the Ottawa Senators more than a matchup with the Florida Panthers.
Craig Anderson made 42 saves, six Ottawa players scored, and the Senators routed the Panthers 6-2 on Wednesday night for their ninth straight win against Florida.
Jim O’Brien notched his first career goal, Milan Michalek moved into a tie for the team lead with his 25th of the season, and Kaspars Daugavins, Bobby Butler, Daniel Alfredsson, and Filip Kuba also scored for the Senators.
Ottawa has beaten the Panthers five straight times in Florida and 17 of 20 on the road.
“I don’t know if they feel that we have an advantage on them or not,” Alfredsson said. “In today’s NHL, we’ve just got to go out there and work hard for 60 minutes no matter who you play. You can’t think, `this is going to go our way.’ You’re going to have to work for it.”
Shawn Matthias and Sean Bergenheim scored for the Panthers. Scott Clemmensen allowed four goals on 16 shots before being replaced by Jose Theodore with 5:54 left in the second. Theodore, who only played once since Jan. 20 due to injury, stopped 13 of 15 shots.
Florida allowed six goals at home for the first time this season, but set a season high with 44 shots. The Panthers were shooting for their first four-game winning streak in four years, but didn’t come close.
“We had a decent first period, but in the second, bang-bang. A couple goals against, and the rain kept falling from there,” Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said. “A very disappointing game in front of our home fans.”
Ottawa took a 2-1 lead in the second. Brian Lee sent a pass from above the right circle to Daugavins, who tipped the puck in from in front at 5:18.
The lead grew to 3-1 a couple minutes later when Michalek passed from the top of the left circle to Butler, who deflected the puck past Clemmensen’s glove side at 7:24.
Alfredsson’s short-handed goal at 14:06 of the second made it 4-1. The Panthers turned the puck over in the neutral zone, and Alfredsson skated in and backhanded the puck over the goalie’s pad. Clemmensen was then replaced by Theodore.
Tags: Florida Panthers
