Florida Panthers expected to dominate Ottawa Senators – NHL Preview
An exciting encounter is certainly on the cards as a team with defensive strength, Florida Panthers, gets ready to host a good, but struggling team, Ottawa Senators, in a National Hockey League (NHL) game on Wednesday, February 15, 2012, at BankAtlantic
Center, Sunrise, Florida.
Panthers are on a three-game winning streak and have performed remarkably well in all those wins.
Against Los Angeles Kings, Panthers scored three goals, while allowing only one.
The same result was repeated when Panthers played against New Jersey Devils, and when the team took on New York Islanders, the offence scored four goals, while the Islanders could only score one.
Panthers have played seven games this month and have lost only two. In all the five victories, a total of only six goals were scored against them, while they scored 16 goals.
Against Islanders, Panthers went one goal down early in the first period, but later scored four goals to get the victory.
Panthers’ coach, Kevin Dineen, said after the victory:
"It's been two solid games and it's satisfying when you get rewarded for playing hard. It's not fun putting ourselves down a goal early but I think when we got down, it didn't seem to (hamper) us too badly."
The Panthers are ranked third in the Eastern Conference with 65 points after 55 games.
On the other hand, Ottawa is ranked at seventh spot in the conference with 66 points after 59 games.
However, its recent run can hinder the team’s progress.
Senators recently snapped their seven-game losing streak by a victory against Nashville Predators. However, the victory was followed by a loss against Edmonton Oilers.
In its last games, Ottawa outclassed Tampa Bay Lightning by scoring four goals with goaltender, Craig Anderson, getting a shutout and Jason Spezza scoring a hat trick.
The pleased Senators’ coach, Paul MacLean, said after the win:
"I think we played a pretty consistent game from start to finish. Craig Anderson played real well for us, and I thought our team handled the momentum shifts and responded real well. The Spezza line, obviously the big line in getting the goals."
Predictions:
Panthers have an edge over Senators.
The winning margin can be more than two goals.
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