Panthers Head Into Final Road Game With Division Title In Tow
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OTTAWA (CBSMiami/SportsDirect) – The Florida Panthers are locked into a top playoff seed but would still like to finish the season on a winning streak.
The Panthers have sealed their second division title in franchise history as they approach the final road game of the regular season Thursday against the Ottawa Senators.
The Panthers reached a team-record 101 points with a 4-1 victory at Montreal on Tuesday, as Tampa Bay was losing, to push their lead in the Atlantic Division to six with two games left.
"We worked hard, planted some good seeds last year and now we have the tune up and get ready for the playoffs," Florida defenseman Brian Campbell told reporters after playing his 1,000th career NHL game Tuesday. "We have a good bunch in here."
The Panthers have won four straight games and six of seven as they take on the Senators, who were eliminated from the playoffs last week after making the postseason in 2014-15.
Ottawa blew a three-goal lead in a 5-3 loss to Pittsburgh on Tuesday and is winding down a disappointing season with changes coming on the horizon.
Craig Anderson is expected to be in goal for the Senators and boasts a 12-6-2 mark with a .929 save percentage in his career against Florida.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Florida, RDS2 and TSN5 (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (46-25-9): Coach Gerard Gallant could give some key personnel some rest in the final two games with nothing left to play for in the regular season as they prepare for the playoffs.
Jonathan Huberdeau (six goals, four assists), Aleksander Barkov (five, six) each take seven-game point streaks into the contest while Jussi Jokinen has not recorded a point in the last five contests.
Jaromir Jagr leads the team with 64 points – his second most in the NHL since 2007-08 – after notching two assists Tuesday.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (36-35-9): Captain Erik Karlsson leads all defensemen in the league with a career-high 80 points – seven in the last seven games – but his team's demise will hurt his chances of a third Norris Trophy.
Mark Stone (chest), who is second on the team with 61 points, will likely miss the final two games and Mike Hoffman (58) could catch him after registering two goals and two assists the last two contests.
Forward Bobby Ryan has gone 14 games without a goal and is day-to-day with an apparent leg injury.
OVERTIME
- Campbell has played all 374 games since joining Florida, going past Olli Jokinen for the franchise record of consecutive games played (373).
- The Senators are 1-for-40 on the power play over the past 16 games and were 28th in the league (15.5 percent) through Tuesday.
- The Panthers have won the last three meetings, including a 6-2 triumph March 10.
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