Game Night - Florida @ Ottawa - Mon, Jan 21, 2013

Season series: Ottawa fans get to see these Panthers only once this season, while the Senators visit Sunrise twice. It also means the Panthers have only one shot this season at ending a five-game losing streak at Scotiabank Place. Their last win was a 3-0 shutout on Jan. 9, 2010.

Big story: It was mission accomplished for both teams on opening night, each coming away with a big win. The Panthers delighted a full house at home by knocking the wind out of the Hurricanes in a 5-1 victory, while the Senators shut down the Jets 4-1 in Winnipeg. Senators faithful will pack their building to welcome their team home.

Team Scope:
Panthers: Those who were lucky enough to get in the building Saturday night got an unexpected treat as rookie Jonathan Huberdeau gave them a taste of what they hope will be very good things to come. The third player taken in the 2011 NHL Draft pick made his NHL debut by scoring a goal and assisting on two others while earning the game's First Star. Coach Kevin Dineen constructed his second line entirely of newcomers as Alexei Kovalev had a goal and two assists as well, while free agent Peter Mueller chipped in another helper.

"You've all heard a lot about Jonathan Huberdeau and I think you got a pretty good snapshot of his high-end skill set tonight," Dineen said to NHL.com. "A coach always picks out little things that you can work on here, but that was a fairly impressive debut, to say the least. So we're really excited. It's great chemistry by those three and it was a great start for them."

"It's the best possible scenario," Huberdeau added. "I'm happy with how things unfolded. It was my first game and I want to keep playing like this. It sure feels good to start my career with a game like that."

Senators: Never mind the score, the Senators felt their 4-1 win in Winnipeg could have been played better.

"I thought the game was played a little bit like a dog's breakfast ... in the first and second period," coach Paul MacLean said. "And the third period, I thought we were able to get control of the game a little bit and establish a little bit more of our game."

After Dustin Byfuglien scored early on the power play, the Senators tied the game on a goal by Milan Michalek and went ahead late in the second period when Chris Neil scored. Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson scored in the third period and set up a late goal by Kyle Turris for a three-point afternoon.

"I think the pace slowed down a little bit and it probably wasn't the best-played game from anyone," he said, "but we've just got to continue here and try to get the feeling back as quick as possible."

Who's hot: Karlsson, the runaway leader in scoring by defenseman last season, is off to a fast start with three points. ... Florida goaltender Jose Theodore is coming off an excellent showing on Saturday in which he made 41 saves.

Injury report: For the Panthers, who's in is just as important as who's out. Defensemen Mike Weaver and Dmitry Kulikov are expected to make Monday's lineup, while forward Kris Versteeg (groin) is doubtful. Defenseman Erik Gudbrandson, who injured his shoulder wakeboarding, is still a couple of games away, while Sean Bergenheim (groin) and Marcel Goc (leg) await medical clearance as well, which would end their suspensions for sustaining injuries either not from hockey or playing elsewhere. … Senators defenseman Mike Lundin is on injured reserve with a broken finger.

NEELY wrote:As he should. After the way he played on Saturday afternoon there's no question in the world. They still need to find something to do with Bishop because having 3 goaltenders is a distraction no matter what way you look at it, especially in practice where 2 goalies have to share the net.

Hopefully they can get off to a quick start seeing as game 1 in behind them and Florida is a somewhat older team with lots of vets who haven't played. This game tonight isn't a must win but it's one they need to have to get out of the gates with some teams in the conference already having lost 2.

wprager wrote:

NEELY wrote:As he should. After the way he played on Saturday afternoon there's no question in the world. They still need to find something to do with Bishop because having 3 goaltenders is a distraction no matter what way you look at it, especially in practice where 2 goalies have to share the net.

Hopefully they can get off to a quick start seeing as game 1 in behind them and Florida is a somewhat older team with lots of vets who haven't played. This game tonight isn't a must win but it's one they need to have to get out of the gates with some teams in the conference already having lost 2.

I think Lehner gets the second of the back-to-back games (Tampa) and then it's decision time. Since it looks like Anderson has shaken the rust off very quickly (one period?) the backup is not going to get a lot of games. Until they can engineer a trade, might as well send him back to Bingo. I could be wrong, but that's my gut feel: give him some time with the team (and NHL $$$), trip to Florida, one more game under his belt, then back to the farm to get ice time and wait for a trade or injury.

shabbs wrote:Home opener! Let's hope the house is rocking tonight. Hockey is back!

GO SENS GO!!!

NEELY wrote:As he should. After the way he played on Saturday afternoon there's no question in the world. They still need to find something to do with Bishop because having 3 goaltenders is a distraction no matter what way you look at it, especially in practice where 2 goalies have to share the net.

Hopefully they can get off to a quick start seeing as game 1 in behind them and Florida is a somewhat older team with lots of vets who haven't played. This game tonight isn't a must win but it's one they need to have to get out of the gates with some teams in the conference already having lost 2.

SeawaySensFan wrote:

NEELY wrote:As he should. After the way he played on Saturday afternoon there's no question in the world. They still need to find something to do with Bishop because having 3 goaltenders is a distraction no matter what way you look at it, especially in practice where 2 goalies have to share the net.

Hopefully they can get off to a quick start seeing as game 1 in behind them and Florida is a somewhat older team with lots of vets who haven't played. This game tonight isn't a must win but it's one they need to have to get out of the gates with some teams in the conference already having lost 2.

That was such a disjointed game with no real flow at all. I love how Anderson kept his head in the game.

Ev wrote:Anderson carer vs Florida:

7-0-0-1, 2.20, .932

NEELY wrote:
With Anderson playing like that, you may as well send Lehner to Bingo because it's tough for any goalie in the world to play better than that. It's not best for Lehner at this point but like I always say it might be best for the team. Lehner can enjoy the all-star game which he earned and really lead that team down in Bingo if that's where he ends up. He will need to take the glass 1/2 full approach like a lot of the fans with Lehner because otherwise it's just going to hurt everyone around him and the team. He should be in the NHL though and I think everyone knows that it's just impossible to knock Anderson out of the net playing the way he has played.

A decision has to be made soon though... we'll see who panics in the West or even in Philly.