"You always see the guys going to 1,000 games, so I'm halfway there," said Huberdeau, who leads the team in scoring with 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) this season. "I'm just going to enjoy it, but right now it's more about winning a game. I didn't even know [it was tonight]."
The penultimate game on their franchise-record, nine-game homestand, the Panthers (15-12-5) will look to shake out of a three-game losing streak against the Senators. Prior to that, the team had won three out of four games, including back-to-back wins over Columbus and San Jose.
Despite averaging the fifth-most goals per game in the league (3.31), Florida has found the back of the net just four times over its last three games, which has prompted coach Joel Quenneville to shake up his lines a bit against the Senators in an effort to re-ignite the team's potent attack.
"You're not happy with results, and that usually leads to looking at your options," Quenneville said of the changes. "We're looking for some balance, some consistency on all the lines and getting a better four-line rotation... We know the importance of today's game and the value of it."
Taking a look specifically at the team's top-six forwards -- based on the lines during Sunday's practice -- it appears that Aleksander Barkov will be centering Frank Vatrano and Brett Connolly on the top line, while Huberdeau and Noel Acciari will flank Vincent Trocheck on the second.
Huberdeau said he believes the new-look lineup should give the team a spark.
"It hasn't been working the last few games, so change it around," he said. "It never hurts. I think we've just got to come into tonight and keep it simple, work as hard as we can and get the win."
Playing his best hockey of the season, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to make his sixth straight start for the Panthers. Over his last five outings, the 31-year-old has stopped 174 of 183 shots (.951 percent) while allowing more than two goals during just one of those starts.
In 14 career games against Ottawa, Bobrovsky's gone 8-5-1 with a .911 save percentage.
"I think he's had five really strong games here at home," Quenneville said of Bobrovsky, who owns an 11-9-4 record this season. "I think we've improved what we're giving up [defensively], but I don't think we've had the puck enough or made it hard enough on the other team."
Fresh off a 4-3 overtime win against Columbus on Saturday, the Senators (14-17-2) have won three of their last five games thanks, in large part, to a few huge showings from Anthony Duclair.
Named the NHL's "Second Star of the Week" on Monday, the 24-year-old forward recorded five goals -- including a pair of multi-goal performances -- and one assist in three games last week.
Duclair leads Ottawa and ranks tied for ninth in the league in goals (18), including eight over his last five games. Since being acquired by the Senators on Feb. 23, he has 26 goals in 55 games.
"He's a good player," Barkov said of Duclair. "He can skate and he can make plays. Obviously we're going to treat him like other really good players on other teams. Overall, we're just going to try to play our own game -- play really well defensively and really well offensively, too."
Ottawa has yet to announce a starting goalie, but Anders Nilsson has gotten the nod in each of the last four games. In that span, the 29-year-old has gone 2-1-1 with a .920 save percentage.
This is the first meeting between the two clubs this season.
The Panthers went 3-1-0 against the Senators in 2018-19.
"They play as a pack of five," Quenneville said of Ottawa. "They're simple and they're straight ahead. They're physical and they're not going to make it easy on you. They play one of those games where they keep themselves in the play, they chip the puck, they move around it, and they look to support it and win those puck battles."
