By SARAH LARIMER
, Associated Press Writer
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) -- Nick Foligno and Jarkko Ruutu scored in a 38-second span late in the second period to help the Ottawa Senators beat the Florida Panthers 4-3 on Wednesday night.
Mike Fisher and Daniel Alfredsson also scored, and denfenseman Filip Kuba added two assists after missing the previous eight games because of a lower-body injury.
Steve Reinprecht, Stephen Weiss and Bryan McCabe scored for Florida, which has lost four straight to drop to 2-7-1. Jordan Leopold and Nathan Horton each had two assists.
Pascal Leclaire stopped nine shots for the Senators (6-2-2), but left after the first period. Brian Elliott finished the game, making 26 saves. According to the team's official Twitter page, Leclaire left because he felt ill.
McCabe scored on the power play at 3:51 in the third period to pull Florida within a goal. He beat Elliott with a slap shot from just inside the point, making it 4-3.
An odd bounce gave the Senators a big break in the second period. A centering pass from Foligno hit a Florida player's skate and ricocheted into the net to give the Senators a 3-2 lead with 2:47 left in the period. Ruutu then made it 4-2.
Florida took a 2-1 lead at 1:47 in the second when Weiss tipped the puck in for his third goal of the season. But Alfredsson tied it at 2 at 6:24 in the second when he put the puck through Tomas Vokoun's pads.
The Panthers opened the scoring at 4:44 of the first period when Leopold pushed the puck toward the crease and Reinprecht redirected it into the net. Ottawa evened the score on Fisher's power-play goal with 9:10 left in the opening period.
Florida was coming a 5-1 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday night, a game that also cost the team Radek Dvorak and star left wing David Booth. Booth, who left on a stretcher, sustained a concussion when he was hit by Philadelphia center Mike Richards. Dvorak injured his left knee. Both players are out indefinitely.
NOTES: Panthers rookie D Dmitry Kulikov played in his 10th game of the season Wednesday, meaning he is officially in the first year of his entry-level NHL contract. Kulikov turns 19 on Thursday. ... The Panthers won three of four games against the Senators last season, but Ottawa has won 12 of its last 15 games in Florida.
Received 10/28/09 10:20 pm ET
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