Game 21 Preview: Florida Panthers @ Ottawa Senators

Mike Hoffman makes his return to Ottawa tonight.

The Ottawa Senators (9-8-3) will look to make it three wins in a row tonight, when Mike Hoffman and the Florida Panthers (7-7-3) come to town.

The Sens are coming off back to back wins against the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins, while the Panthers are looking to get back on track, having lost two in a row to the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers. The last time these two squads met, the Cats chased Mike McKenna en route to a 5-1 win.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30ET, and you can catch this one on TSN5, RDSI, and FS-Florida for our friends south of the border. The game, of course, will also be broadcasted on TSNRadio 1200.

Ottawa will roll 12-6 tonight, with Christian Jaros sliding back into the lineup in place of healthy scratch Chris Wideman. Craig Anderson starts.

Here’s a look at the Sens lines and pairings for tonight.

Game Notes

  • This, of course, will be Mike Hoffman’s return to Ottawa. In the fallout of the Karlsson/Caryk incident, it will be interesting to see what kind of reception he gets. Hoffman is red-hot, currently on a franchise record 15-game point streak.
  • Chris Wideman is a healthy scratch tonight, as he hasn’t looked terribly comfortable all year. Wideman got off to a great start last year before ending up getting injured, so hopefully he can find his game soon and get back to that form.
  • Ben Harpur practiced during the team session this morning for the first time since his injury, marking a positive step on the road to recovery.
  • James Reimer gets the start for the Panthers tonight.
  • Max Lajoie’s production has completely stalled since being paired with Ceci. He needs more time with Demelo, and even Jaros.
  • Guy Boucher looks to roll with the same line combinations that have yielded eight goals in the last two games. These lines appear to have some real chemistry, especially the 7-36-61 combo. They’ve been arguably Ottawa’s best line, though 89-95-79 are giving them a run for their money.
  • Expect the Panthers lineup to look something like this tonight./

As always, have some stats, courtesy of NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick:

Team Stats

CategoryOttawaSenatorsMinnesotaWild
--ValueRankValueRank
Goals/GP3.571st3.1016th
Goals Against/GP4.1931st2.677th
Shots/GP30.123rd31.516th
Shots Against/GP38.031st31.113th
Powerplay %25.07th21.712th
Penalty Kill %68.231st84.93rd
Corsi (5v5, Score & Venue Adjusted)42.9230th49.3919th
Fenwick (5v5, SVA)43.6530th40.4515th

Player Stats

OttawaSenatorsMinnesotaWild
--Player#Player#
GoalsMatt Duchene10Mikael Granlund10
AssistsThomas Chabot19Mikko Koivu14
PointsMatt Duchene27Mikael Granlund19
ShotsThomas Chabot62Matt Dumba67
TOI/GPThomas Chabot23:27Ryan Suter25:53

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