Florida 4, Ottawa 2
When: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, December 19, 2013
Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
Referees:
Kevin Pollock, Kyle Rehman
Linesmen:
Greg Devorski, Brad Kovachik
Attendance:
15927
By SportsDirect Inc.
Panthers 4, Senators 2: Defenseman Tom Gilbert scored on the power play with 2:32 remaining, lifting visiting Florida to its season-high fifth consecutive victory.
Gilbert also set up rookie Aleksander Barkov's tying goal and Tomas Kopecky sealed it with with a short-handed tally with 1:41 to play as the Panthers registered their first five-game winning streak since March 11-20, 2012. Jimmy Hayes also scored and Scott Clemmensen turned aside 32 shots to give Florida only its third win over Ottawa in the last 16 meetings.
Chris Neil and captain Jason Spezza notched first-period goals for the Senators, who had a seven-game home winning streak against the Panthers snapped. Craig Anderson made 31 saves in falling to 10-2-1 lifetime against Florida.
The Panthers broke on top when Shawn Matthias fed a cutting Hayes down the middle and he had all day to pull the trigger and beat Anderson 5:39 into the contest. Ottawa tied it less than four minutes later when a rebound of Clarke MacArthur's blast went in off the skate of Neil.
Spezza scored a highlight-reel goal with 29 seconds left in the period, cutting inside defenseman Dylan Olsen before going high to beat Clemmensen. Barkov pulled Florida even with 2:49 left in the second period, redirecting Gilbert's point shot past Anderson before the defenseman delivered the game-winner with a one-timer from the left circle.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Senators D Erik Karlsson extended his point streak to four games with his assist on Spezza's power-play tally. ... Barkov, the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft, has two goals and three assists in his last five games. ... Senators F Mika Zibanejad suffered an upper-body injury on a hit by D Erik Gudbranson and did not return.
Top Game Performances
| Florida |
|
Ottawa |
|
Tom Gilbert 2 |
Points |
Chris Neil 1 |
|
Tom Gilbert 1 |
Goals |
Chris Neil 1 |
|
Tom Gilbert 1 |
Assists |
Craig Anderson 1 |
|
Tom Gilbert 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Jason Spezza 1 |
|
Tomas Kopecky 1 |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Scott Clemmensen .941 |
Save Percentage |
Craig Anderson .886 |
|
Scott Clemmensen 32 |
Saves |
Craig Anderson 31 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Florida
|
35 |
4 |
1-3 |
2-3 |
8 |
32 |
| Ottawa
|
34 |
2 |
1-3 |
2-3 |
8 |
39 |
Upcoming Games
-
Ottawa will play their next game at home against Phoenix. The Senators have a W/L % of .214 after a win and .478 after a loss.
-
Florida will play their next game on the road against Winnipeg. The Panthers have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .318 after a loss.
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