Florida hosts Ottawa after Barkov's 2-goal game

Ottawa Senators (19-28-5, sixth in the Atlantic) vs. Florida Panthers (35-13-5, second in the Atlantic)

Sunrise, Florida; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

LINE: Panthers -335, Senators +255

BOTTOM LINE: Florida hosts the Ottawa Senators after Aleksander Barkov scored two goals in the Panthers' 4-3 loss to the Oilers.

The Panthers are 20-6-3 against Eastern Conference opponents. Florida averages 9.4 penalty minutes per game, the 10th-most in the league. Radko Gudas leads the team serving 63 total minutes.

The Senators are 12-16-4 in conference play. Ottawa averages 9.9 penalty minutes per game, the third-most in the Eastern Conference. Brady Tkachuk leads the team serving 78 total minutes.

In their last matchup on Dec. 14, Ottawa won 8-2. Drake Batherson recorded a team-high 4 points for the Senators.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Panthers with 57 assists and has 75 points this season. Barkov has seven goals and eight assists over the last 10 games for Florida.

Josh Norris leads the Senators with 18 goals and has 26 points. Connor Brown has six assists over the last 10 games for Ottawa.

LAST 10 GAMES: Panthers: 6-4-0, averaging 4.3 goals, 7.1 assists, 3.8 penalties and 8.2 penalty minutes while giving up 3.3 goals per game with an .881 save percentage.

Senators: 3-6-1, averaging 1.9 goals, 3.7 assists, 4.3 penalties and 9.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game with a .929 save percentage.

INJURIES: Panthers: Jonas Johansson: out (covid-19), Markus Nutivaara: out (undisclosed).

Senators: Josh Norris: out (shoulder), Nikita Zaitsev: day to day (illness), Thomas Chabot: day to day (illness).

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