Face-off: 1900 ET, 28/04/2022
Arena: Canadian Tire Centre
Ottawa have held their own in three previous meetings with Florida this season and are fancied to be competitive again at Canadian Tire Centre.
The Senators go into this penultimate game of the regular season on a four-match winning run, whereas the Panthers may have one eye on the playoffs.
We like 1.83 for the hosts with 1.5 goals start on the spread in our Ottawa Senators vs Florida Panthers predictions.
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Ottawa Senators Odds
Ottawa stunned Florida with an 8-2 away win in December and were only beaten 4-3 via a shootout at this venue last month.
The Senators head into this encounter buoyed by victories over Vancouver, Columbus, Montreal and New Jersey.
Tim Stutzle had two goals and two assists, Brady Tkachuk had three assists and Drake Batherson bagged the overtime decider in Tuesday’s 5-4 triumph over the Devils.
DJ Smith was delighted for Batherson, who signed a six-year, $29.85million contract with the club in September and received an All-Star Game selection this term.
“Pucks just kept coming to him and he got more and more confident as he got the puck,” said Smith.
“He was off for nine weeks and then he got sick and he lost 10 pounds and just hasn’t been himself, even at practice.
“He’s just starting to get back going again and getting in a rhythm – and offensively he was great here.”
Smith has yet to win five straight as Ottawa coach but will urge his players to adopt a positive approach again.
Looking at the NHL odds, let’s take 2.25 for both teams to score at least three times.
Florida Panthers Odds
Florida have just taken their foot off the gas since being confirmed as Eastern Conference champions.
Having previously rattled off 13 consecutive victories, they were beaten 8-4 by Tampa Bay on Sunday and 4-2 at Boston on Tuesday.
Interim head coach Andrew Brunette said of losing to the Bruins: “We had trouble getting energy and anything really going.
“They played hard, a little more desperate than we did, hence the score.”
Star rookie Anton Lundell (upper body) and blue line enforcer Radko Gudas left that game early with knocks.
The Presidents’ Trophy is still up for grabs, though, with Colorado two points behind and facing a tough couple of fixtures.
With that in mind, 12.0 for the Panthers to shade a second 4-3 success of the season at Canadian Tire Centre does catch the eye.
Additional stats
Last result:
OTTAWA 5-4 New Jersey (OT)
Boston 4-2 FLORIDA
Season head-to-head: Ottawa 3-4 Florida, Florida 3-0 Ottawa, Florida 2-8 Ottawa
