Bobby Butler and Craig Anderson have injected a bit of new life into the previously listless Ottawa Senators.
Butler scored twice, Anderson made 23 saves, and Ottawa ended a 10-game home losing streak with a 5-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night.
Jason Spezza had a goal and two assists and Ryan Shannon had a goal and an assist. Milan Michalek also scored for the Senators, who had not won at Scotiabank Place since Dec. 26.
Ottawa, which is last in the Eastern Conference with 49 points, had gone 0-7-3 at home since a Boxing Day victory over Pittsburgh gave the Senators their last consecutive wins.
''It feels good to get the back-to-back wins,'' said Butler, one of eight players in Ottawa's lineup who have played for AHL Binghamton this season. ''It's exciting in the locker room and I think the guys had fun tonight.''
Anderson won his second start in a row since the Senators acquired him from Colorado on Friday in a trade for goalie Brian Elliott. The former Panthers goalie made 47 saves in his Ottawa debut on Saturday night, turning aside three shootout attempts to secure a 1-0 win in Toronto for his first shutout of the season.
''When I came in here the room was great, it was very positive,'' Anderson said. ''Guys didn't get down on themselves or their teammates, from what I could see right when I came in. You would never have known that they were on a losing streak.''
Butler, who has five goals in his past five games, scored midway through the first. He added his second of the game midway through the second to give Ottawa its second two-goal lead.
''I just need to keep playing as I can and keep putting the puck towards the net, and hopefully good things will keep happening,'' Butler said.
Chris Higgins scored his 11th goal for Florida, which has lost four of five. Scott Clemmensen stopped 29 shots.
''We just didn't have enough in the offensive end tonight,'' Higgins said. ''We let them skate out of the zone a little bit too easy and didn't put enough pressure on their goalie. It seems like we had one shot and they were out of the zone.''
Panthers right wing Jack Skille left the game in the second with a high ankle sprain.
Ottawa's Chris Neil also left midway through the second. He suffered a lower-body injury and did not return.
Butler gave the Senators a 1-0 lead 11:13 in when his backhand went in off Panthers defenseman Mike Weaver.
Shannon made it 2-0 when he beat Clemmensen for his sixth goal of the season early in the second.
Clemmensen got an assist when Higgins scored at 4:18 to draw Florida within 2-1.
Butler restored the Senators' two-goal lead with an unassisted effort at 10:38.
Michalek made it 4-1 with his 15th goal 16:49 into the third. Spezza scored Ottawa's fifth goal, his 11th, at 18:38.
NOTES: Clemmensen fell to 3-1 against the Senators. ... Anderson went 89 minutes, 18 seconds into his Ottawa career before allowing his first goal. ... The Senators are 10-16-5 at home.
