National Hockey League
Florida 7, Ottawa 2
When: 7:30 PM ET, Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
Referees: Tom Kowal, Kevin Pollock
Linesmen: Scott Driscoll, Steve Barton
Attendance: 14434
The red-hot Florida Panthers won their second consecutive road game, routing the Ottawa Senators 7-2 on Tuesday night at the Canadian Tire Centre.

Florida has surged into playoff contention with an 18-5-1 record since Jan. 30. The Panthers avenged a 5-3 home loss to the Senators on March 12.

Colton Sceviour, Keith Yandle, Evgenii Dadonov, Jared McCann, Frank Vatrano, Nick Bjugstad and Jamie McGinn scored for Florida.

Panthers backup goalie James Reimer earned the win with 33 saves. He has won his past three starts while allowing a combined total of three goals.

The Senators played without star defenseman Erik Karlsson after it was announced that he and his wife lost their unborn son.

Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson, who beat the Panthers on March 12, was chased 7:19 into the second period, having allowed four goals on just 17 shots. He was replaced by Mike Condon, who stopped 19 of 22 shots.

Senators rookie defenseman Patrick Sieloff scored his first goal of the season and the second of his career, but the Senators, who were officially eliminated from playoff contention with this loss, have dropped five of their past six home games.

Panthers center Aleksander Barkov added two assists, giving him the 73 points on the season, the fifth-highest scoring season in Panthers history. Only Pavel Bure (94 in 1999-2000 and 92 in 2000-2001) and Olli Jokinen (85 in 2005-06, 89 in 2006-07) have had more productive seasons.

Florida opened the scoring 2:36 into the first period. Florida's Derek MacKenzie won a draw against Jim O'Brien. The puck went back to Panthers defenseman Mark Pysyk, whose wrist shot from beyond the right circle went in on a deflection by Sceviour.

Ottawa tied the score with 12:48 gone in the first. Sieloff shot to the left of the goal, but the puck took a big bounce off the back boards and went in off of Reimer's right leg.

Florida took a 2-1 lead three minutes later. Yandle, skating on the left wing on an odd-man rush, turned down a pass and beat Anderson with a wrist shot.

The Panthers extended their lead to 3-1 with 2:15 gone in the second period. Bjugstad won a battle along the boards, shoveling the puck to Barkov, who found Dadonov out in front for the goal.

McCann's goal chased Anderson. And after a score by Ottawa's Marian Gaborik, the Panthers closed the period with goals by Vatrano and Bjugstad. The Vatrano and Bjugstad goals came within 51 seconds of each other.

Bjugstad has 23 points in his past 22 games and 45 total points, a career high.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Florida   Ottawa
Jared McCann 3 Points Marian Gaborik 1
Jared McCann 1 Goals Marian Gaborik 1
Jared McCann 2 Assists Jean-Gabriel Pageau 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
James Reimer .943 Save Percentage Mike Condon .864
James Reimer 33 Saves Mike Condon 19
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Florida 39 7 0-1 2-2 4 32
Ottawa 35 2 0-2 1-1 2 42
Upcoming Games
  • Ottawa will play their next game at home against Edmonton. The Senators have a W/L % of .385 after a win and .348 after a loss.
  • Florida will play their next game on the road against Columbus. The Panthers have a W/L % of .528 after a win and .514 after a loss.