Ottawa, Ontario (My Sportsbook) - Hoping to move above the .500 mark, the
Florida Panthers conclude a brief road trip tonight when they visit the
Ottawa Senators at the Corel Centre.
The Panthers are coming off back-to-back ties against Chicago and Philadelphia, including Wednesday's 1-1 deadlock versus Philadelphia. Kristian Huselius' power-play goal with 1:10 remaining in the second period knotted the score, while another stellar performance by backup goaltender Jani Hurme kept it that way.
Hurme made his fourth consecutive start in place of Roberto Luongo, who has been nursing a sore back. Luongo was available as a backup Wednesday, but Hurme held down the fort with 29 saves, including 12 in the third period. Hurme, a former Senator, could be playing against his old team for the first time if he replaces Luongo again.
Huselius, meanwhile, stretched his points streak to five games with his eighth goal of the season, which ties him for the club lead with Olli Jokinen. Huselius has amassed four scores and two assists during his current tear.
The Panthers, 3-4-1-1 away from home, will host San Jose on Saturday.
Ottawa, meanwhile, snapped a two-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory on Long Island Tuesday night. Zdeno Chara and Todd White scored first-period power- play goals to set the tone for the night, and the Sens withstood a late Islanders rally to hold on to the decision.
Chara scored twice against his former team, and Peter Schaefer and Shaun Van Allen tallied as well. Goaltender Martin Prusek, who replaced Hurme as the backup netminder when the latter player was traded during the preseason, earned his first NHL win with 29 saves.
Ottawa went 2-for-6 on the power play to extend its franchise record for consecutive games with a man-advantage tally to 12. For the season, the Sens are 19-for-76 on the power play (25 percent), which ranks second in the league behind Pittsburgh.
The Senators, who are an even 3-3-0 at the Corel Centre, will conclude a brief homestand Saturday against Buffalo.
Ottawa went 3-1 against Florida last season, and has won six of the last nine meetings overall. The Panthers snapped a five-game series road losing streak with a 4-3 away win on March 28.
