Preview: Senators at Panthers

SENATORS (32-21-6) at PANTHERS (28-22-10)
7:30 p.m. ET; SN, SN360, TVA Sports, FS-F, NHL.TV

Senators team scope

Ottawa Senators forwards Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman each took part in the morning skate and will be game-time decisions. Stone and Hoffman have missed the past two games because of neck and groin injuries, respectively. "As of yesterday, we didn't have the green light on [Hoffman] or Stone," coach Guy Boucher said. "They did treatment twice yesterday and they were going to see after morning skate, after treatments again this afternoon, and we'll see where that's at." Stone is second on the Senators with 47 points; Hoffman is third in goals with 19. Goalie Craig Anderson will make his third consecutive start. He has three shutouts in 23 appearances against the Florida Panthers, where he played from 2007-09. The Senators, who are coming off a 3-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, trail the Montreal Canadiens by four points for first place in the Atlantic Division and are one point ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Panthers team scope

Goalie James Reimer will make his fourth start in six games and coach Tom Rowe said the reason was performance. Roberto Luongo started against the Calgary Flames on Friday and allowed four goals on 28 shots in a 4-2 loss. "[Reimer] has been playing really well," Rowe said. "We felt he deserved to get the start tonight. I think there are some goals [Luongo] probably wanted to get back the other night. We just have him working on a couple of things and that's the luxury of having Reimer here. He's been unbelievable all season, so we can put him in there and Roberto can get re-organized and get ready for the stretch run." The Panthers have lost the first two games of a four-game homestand following the first 5-0-0 road trip in their history. They're three points behind the Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division with a game in hand.

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Senators projected lineup

Zack Smith -- Kyle Turris -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau
Ryan Dzingel -- Derick Brassard -- Mark Stone
Tommy Wingels -- Chris Kelly -- Tom Pyatt
Mike Blunden -- Phil Varone -- Chris Neil
Marc Methot -- Erik Karlsson
Dion Phaneuf -- Cody Ceci
Mark Borowiecki -- Chris Wideman
Craig Anderson
Mike Condon
Scratched:Fredrik Claesson
Injured:Curtis Lazar (upper body), Mike Hoffman (groin)

Panthers projected lineup

Jonathan Huberdeau -- Aleksander Barkov -- Jaromir Jagr
Jussi Jokinen -- Vincent Trocheck -- Reilly Smith
Jonathan Marchessault -- Michael Sgarbossa - Nick Bjugstad
Shawn Thornton -- Derek MacKenzie -- Colton Sceviour
Keith Yandle -- Aaron Ekblad
Mark Pysyk -- Alexander Petrovic
Mike Matheson -- Jason Demers
James Reimer
Roberto Luongo
Scratched: Jakub Kindl, Greg McKegg, Denis Malgin
Injured: None

Status report

Boucher said Lazar, who has no goals and one assist in 33 games, was being held out for precautionary reasons. … Blunden and Varone were recalled from Binghamton of the American Hockey League on Saturday. … The Panthers recalled Malgin from Springfield of the AHL on Sunday but he will not play. Malgin had four goals and four assists in the Panthers' first 17 games but was held without a point in his next 22 before being sent to Springfield. … The Panthers are expected to go with the same forwards and defensemen for the fourth consecutive game.

Who's hot

Karlsson has three goals and 10 assists in his past 12 games. … Turris needs two points to reach 300 in his NHL career. … Barkov has 10 points (seven goals, three assists) in nine games since his return to the lineup Feb. 3. … Jokinen has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past eight games. … Smith had seven assists in his past seven games.