The Florida Panthers’ home woes continued Sunday with a tough 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
Craig Anderson made 37 saves to get the Sens within two points of the Montreal Canadiens for first place in the Atlantic Division.
“It was a fun one to be a part of,” Anderson said. “There was a lot of action going both ways with a lot of shots going both ways. I think it was an exciting game for all of us.”
Zack Smith and Kyle Turris scored for Ottawa as the Senators improved to 33-21-6; they are two points back of the Habs with two games in hand.
Jonathan Marchessault scored the lone Panthers goal as Florida has dropped three straight at home after a five-game road sweep.
“I don’t think it was our best effort but we battled,” Marchessault said. “I think we were dominating the ‘O’ zone a little bit, but we’re having problems lately bearing down on our chances.
“I think we need to be better going in front of their net and winning the small battles there and in the corners.”
The skid is not helping in any way as the Panthers trail the Toronto Maple Leafs by three points for the final wild card spot in the east.
After missing two games, Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman returned for the Sens.
“We did what we had to do for 60 minutes to be successful and that was playing a tight game, and I thought we did a good job of that, keeping them to limited scoring chances with the talent they have on that team,”  Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson
WATCH: All Senators vs. Panthers highlights
James Reimer made 31 saves in taking the loss.
“We can’t complain about the effort. The effort was unbelievable. We had [72] attempted shots … we were unlucky, that’s all. If we play like that we’ll win a lot more,” Florida head coach Tom Rowe said.
You must be logged in to post a comment.