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NHL Preview: Ottawa Senators versus Florida Panthers

NHL

The Senators Finish Their Florida Road Trip Against the Streaking Panthers.

The Senators meet up with the Florida Panthers for the first time this season. Last season, the Panthers finished against the Senators with a record of 2-1-1.

Tale of the Tape

Ottawa (7-7-3)

The Senators are coming off of a huge rally against the Tampa Bay Lightning that won them the game by a score of 6-4. Thomas Chabot currently leads the team in points with 22 points. Additionally, Mark Stone is second with 20 points and is currently on a six-game point streak. As a result, these two will likely cause some havoc.

Their rookie sensation, Brady Tkachuck has eight points in six games for the Sens. He had two points against the Lightning on Saturday.

Due to the Senators playing a back-to-back, Mike McKenna is expected to get the call as Craig Anderson allowed four goals against Tampa Bay. It is somewhat of a homecoming for McKenna.  as he played for the former Panthers AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates. McKenna did so for two seasons.

Florida (5-5-3)

The Panthers are coming off of their third straight win against the New York Islanders by a score of 4-2. This matchup will feature Mike Hoffman’s first game against his former squad since he was traded. Currently, Hoffman is riding an 11 game point streak and will look to extend it against his former squad.

In addition to Hoffman streaking, Evgenii Dadonov currently has a 10 game point streak. Look for him to make some noise in this game.

Due to Roberto Luongo getting the past three starts, expect James Reimer to get the nod in this back-to-back series for Florida.

Injuries/Suspensions

Ottawa

Jean-Gabriel Pageau is out with an Achilles injury.

Ben Harpur is out with an undisclosed injury.

Zack Smith is out with a facial fracture.

Florida

Derek Mackenzie is still recovering from shoulder surgery.

Mark Pysyk is healthy but he will be scratched from the lineup.

Jaime McGinn is still recovering from back surgery.

Michael Haley is still out due to personal issues.

Projected Lineup (according to NHL.com)

Ottawa (unconfirmed)

L1: Brady Tkachuck-Colin White-Mark Stone

L2: Mikkel Boedker-Chris Tierney-Bobby Ryan

L3: Magnus Paajarvi-Matt Duchene-Ryan Dzingel

L4: Nick Paul-Tom Pyatt-Max McCormick

D1: Thomas Chabot-Dylan DeMelo

D2: Maxime Lajoie-Cody Ceci

D3: Mark Borowiecki-Christian Jaros

G1: Mike McKenna

G2: Craig Anderson

Scratches: Chris Wideman

Florida

L1: Evgenii Dadonov-Aleksander Barkov-Mike Hoffman

L2: Johnathan Huberdeau-Vincent Trocheck-Frank Vatrano

L3: Denis Malgin-Jared McCann-Nick Bjugstad

L4: Colton Scevior-Juho Lammikko-Troy Brouwer

D1: Michael Matheson-Aaron Ekblad

D2: Keith Yandle-Alexander Petrovic

D3: Bogdan Kiselevich-MacKenzie Weegar

G1: James Reimer

G2: Roberto Luongo

Social Media

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Photo Credit

Photo Courtesy of Ward Benjamin

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