Game 75 Hub: Ottawa Senators vs Florida Panthers

There's nothing we can do but take whatever positives we can with each game. One area in which the Ottawa Senators have progressed significantly over the years is shot differential. They outshot the Minnesota Wild 32-19 on Tuesday and now rank in the league's top half in shots for and against per game for the first time since...I'm checking this right now...2005-06?!?!

Tonight's opponents, the Florida Panthers, have been so dominant that they've already clinched a playoff spot despite a 2-7-1 record in their last 10 games.

Ottawa will look to win their first game against the Panthers this season, having lost 5-0 and 3-2 (OT) in two previous meetings.

Joonas Korpisalo will start in goal, while Jiri Smejkal will draw in for the injured Angus Crookshank, who is out indefinitely with a lower body injury:

Game Notes:

• It's safe to say Korpisalo's still on buyout watch at the moment. This last stretch of games will likely play a role in the club's decision on whether or not to run it back with him next season.
• It didn't result in a win last game, but the success on special teams (2/3 on the PP and 4/4 on the PK) can hopefully carry into tonight's contest. The lack of quality chances on the power-play and lack of saves on the penalty kill are a big reason why the Sens are in the basement yet again.
• Jakob Chychrun is heating up with 6 points in his last 6 games. With the way the season has gone you assume you're going to have to make some changes to the roster, but aside from maybe swapping in Tyler Kleven for Jacob Bernard-Docker, what do you do with the defense corps? Another RHD would help for sure, but you have to replace somebody, and Chychrun's the only one left who's struggled for a large part of the year. It's quite a conundrum.
• Drake Batherson has had himself a nice stretch over these last 6 games, with 4 goals and 5 assists. His decrease in power-play production has been offset by his 5-on-5 SH% increasing from last season by more than threefold.
• Tonight's 7:00 pm EST game is available on RDS2, TSN5, and TSN1200.

Stats: