OTTAWA-- The Florida Panthers moved one point from an Eastern Conference wild card with a 7-2 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre.
James Reimer made 33 saves for the Panthers (37-27-7), who are 11-2-1 in their past 14 games and trail the New Jersey Devils by one point for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs with two games in hand. "I think these last two games were pretty textbook, defensively," Reimer said. "Back end of a back to back, obviously, it's hard and sometimes your legs aren't there, so you've got to be mentally sharp and for the most part tonight the guys did really well." WATCH: [All Panthers vs. Senators highlights] Roberto Luongo made 28 saves for Florida in a 2-0 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Monday. "It's every game between both of these goalies," Panthers forward Nick Bjugstad said. "Big saves at key points in the game that we definitely thrive off of. A lot of times it goes the other way and we end up scoring." Patrick Sieloff and Marian Gaborik scored for the Senators (26-35-11), who trail the Devils by 19 points. Craig Anderson allowed four goals on 17 shots before Ottawa replaced him with Mike Condon midway through the second period. Condon allowed three goals on 22 shots.
"From the beginning," Senators coach Guy Boucher said of when the game got away from them. "We weren't good enough. ... We gave an opportunity to some players to have more minutes or better roles, a little more ice time, and it was tough for them. It's an eye-opener for a few guys." Bjugstad, Aleksander Barkov, Evgenii Dadonov, Jared McCann, Jamie McGinn, Frank Vatrano and Keith Yandle had multipoint games for Florida.
"Not many seven-goal games happen very often," Bjugstad said. "It just shows that everyone was ready to play and everyone's buying in at the end of the season." Colton Sceviour deflected a point shot from Mark Pysyk to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 2:36 of the first period. Sieloff scored his first goal with the Senators to tie it 1-1 at 12:48; his slap shot bounced off the end boards and deflected off Reimer's back. Yandle made it 2-1 with a wrist shot at 15:56, and Dadonov gave the Panthers a 3-1 lead at 2:15 of the second period when he one-timed a cross-crease pass from Barkov. McCann scored with a snap shot on a breakaway to make it 4-1 at 7:19, and Gaborik beat Reimer with a wrist shot from a bad angle to make it 4-2 at 13:52. Vatrano scored with a wrist shot to make it 5-2 at 16:13, and Bjugstad one-timed a pass from Dadonov to give the Panthers a 6-2 lead at 17:04.
McGinn made it 7-2 with a backhand at 12:08 of the third period.
Goal of the game
Dadonov's goal at 2:15 of the second period.
Save of the game
Reimer's pad save on Gaborik 12:00 into the first period.
Highlight of the game
Yandle's goal at 15:56 of the first period.
They said it
"Just buying in. I think we have a plan and all the guys that are on the [penalty kill] are dedicated to it and take a lot of pride in it, so it doesn't matter if it's a 7-2 game or 1-0, you're out there sacrificing your body and doing what it takes." -- Panthers goaltender James Reimer "Everybody's heartbroken. It's awful. We definitely feel for Erik and his wife and his family and as a group in there. It's been a tough year. There's been all kinds of things that have been tough, but I think this is a real personal, devastating blow." -- Senators coach Guy Boucher on Erik Karlsson and his wife losing their unborn son
Need to know
Sieloff scored in his only other NHL game, for the Calgary Flames on April 9, 2016. The defenseman scored three goals in 99 American Hockey League games the past two seasons. … Reimer is 13-5-2 against the Senators. … Barkov has 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists) in his past 19 games. … Boucher said there was no timetable for Karlsson's return.
What's next
Panthers: At the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, FS-F, NHL.TV) Senators: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS, SNW, NHL.TV)
