Florida failed to begin their next winning streak on Tuesday night in Sunrise with a 4-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
First Period
Logan Shaw opened up the scoring at 7:49 of the first period when he streaked down the right side of the ice and slapped one past Sens goalie Craig Anderson’s glove side. It was Shaw’s first career NHL point in his seventh contest. Derek MacKenzie and Jussi Jokinen earned assists on the play.
Although Ottawa led the Panthers with 18 shots attempted to 15 for the Cats, Florida was successful in defending the net, leading the shots-on-goal category after one by an 11-to-seven mark. Aleksander Barkov led in the face-off circle, winning six-of-eight draws, while Dave Bolland collected three hits. Each club went 0-for-1 on the power play.
Second Period
The same power play that Ottawa ended the first period on would end with Zach Smith’s seven goal of the season just :48 into the second. Smith wired it past Roberto Luongo after a nifty Mark Stone pass from behind Luongo. Kyle Turris was credited with the secondary assist on the play.
At 13:58, Brandon Pirri collected the loose puck off the boards and hit Vincent Trocheck near the middle of the ice in Florida’s zone. Trocheck hit a streaking Reilly Smith in stride, who easily deked out Anderson for a 2-1 lead.
Florida generated 14 shots in the period to 10 for the Senators, and collected eight shots on goal to six for Ottawa. Barkov won three-of-six in the circle, while MacKenzie and Erik Gudbranson each dished out a pair of hits through the frame. Florida failed on two power play opportunities, and the Senators went 0-for-1 after the marker to open the frame.
Third Period
The Senators tied the game :51 into the third with their second power play goal of the contest. Kyle Turris scored his 12th goal of the season. He collected a rebound of a Mark Stone shot and fired it past a sprawling Luongo to knot the score at two. Bobby Ryan also was credited with an assist on the play.
Mike Hoffman scored an unassisted goal for his 15th of the season with 5:37 remaining in regulation. He slapped it past Luongo, who was visibly deflated after getting beat.
The Panthers had a golden opportunity to tie the game up when Cody Ceci was called for tripping 40 seconds later. Eventually they pulled Luongo for a little six-on-four action, but Jean-Gabriel Pageau lit the lamp for his seventh goal to put the final nail in Florida’s coffin.
The Panthers fired off 17 shots to 16 through the frame, but Ottawa put it where it counted, leading shots-on-goal, 10-to-8
Knicks and Knacks
Bolland led the Panthers with five hits on the night, while MacKenzie supplemented him with four of the Panthers’ 29 total. The Sens had 30 led by Jared Cowen‘s four.
Here’s the advanced statistical summary from war-on-ice.com…
…and NHL.COM’s recap.
Barkov won 10-of-19 faceoffs on the night, while DMac was successful in seven-of-16.
In terms of shot generation, the game was pretty even, with Florida holding a slight 46-to-44 edge in Corsi.
Florida’s penalty kill, which hadn’t allowed a goal in 20 chances for the opposition, allowed two in five attempts. Even their power play allowed a goal, which must not be allowed to continue
Silver Seven has the opposing point of view. Florida will next face off against the Washington Capitals. Read up on them at Japers’ Rink.