Panthers Drop Second Straight, Losing To Lowly Ottawa In OT
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OTTAWA (CBSMiami/AP) – The Florida Panthers are running out of time as they continue to push for a playoff spot.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored on a penalty shot in overtime to lift the Ottawa Senators over the Panthers 3-2 on Thursday night.
Florida dropped three points behind New Jersey with a game in hand for the final wild card in the Eastern Conference.
The Devils lost to Pittsburgh 4-3 in overtime Thursday.
Pageau and Magnus Paajarvi also scored in regulation for the Senators, and Craig Anderson stopped 24 shots.
Aaron Ekblad and Evgeni Dadonov scored for the Panthers, and James Reimer made 27 saves.
Both teams had several chances in overtime before Pageau converted with 16 seconds left after being tripped by Mike Matheson on a breakaway.
Paajarvi tied it 16 seconds into the third period by tipping Zack Smith's shot.
Erik Karlsson assisted on Paajarvi's goal for his 50th of the season. It's his fifth time reaching the mark.
Pageau had a number of chances in the second period and made good on one and was robbed on another.
Ottawa took a 1-0 lead on Pageau's 13th as he chased down his own shot that went wide and tucked it in behind Reimer 1:24 into the period.
The Panthers tied it with a power-play goal when Ekblad tied a franchise record for goals by a defenseman with his 16th. Just 1:31, later Florida took the lead as Dadonov took a pass in the slot and rang a shot in off the post.
Pageau looked like he had a sure goal late in the period, but Reimer made a great glove save to preserve the lead.
The Senators appeared to open the scoring at the 14-minute mark as Pageau broke in on Reimer, but upon review it was ruled the puck never crossed the goal line.
NOTES: Ottawa D Chris Wideman was shut down for the season with a hamstring injury. ... Ottawa F Mark Stone skated Thursday and is hopeful of playing soon. Stone missed his tenth straight game with a leg injury. ... Senators F Marian Gaborik missed his fourth straight game with an undisclosed injury. ... Florida's Maxim Mamin, Radim Vrbata, Connor Brickley, Micheal Haley and Ian McCoshen were healthy scratches.
UP NEXT
Panthers: Play at Boston on Saturday.
Senators: Play at Detroit on Saturday.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
