Florida Panthers vs Ottawa Senators

It is not official yet, but the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are only days away from mathematical elimination. The Panthers have been playing like they know their fate, dropping four of their last five games, including the last three. Florida is averaging 2.2 goals per game while allowing 3.8 goals per game during these past five games. The Panthers have been held to two or fewer goals in seven of their last nine games. Ottawa, on the other hand, is treating this matchup as perhaps its most crucial game of the year. The Senators are two points behind the Blue Jackets for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with one game in hand. Linus Ullmark, Ottawa's top goalie, is expected back in net after sitting out the Senators' last game. That was a 4-2 road loss to the Lightning this past Saturday. Ullmark has been stellar in net since returning on Jan. 31 from a leave of absence for mental health reasons, posting a 9-2-3 record with a .905 save percentage. The Senators are a top 10 scoring team. Florida ranks 21st in scoring and 27th defensively. Take the Senators.

So far, two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida hasn't had it this season. It looked like maybe the Panthers were going to start to get rolling after upsetting Colorado, 2-1, at home six days ago. But the Panthers have lost their next two games, 6-1 to Montreal and 4-1 to Toronto. Florida also had lost two in a row before knocking off the Avalanche. The Panthers are averaging only 1.6 goals a game during their five games. The Senators have had their own problems, losing three in a row, with the last coming on the road in Colorado in embarrassing 8-2 fashion this past Thursday. But at least Ottawa is returning to home ice, where it has gone 4-3 the past seven times. The Senators have a winning record at home. Florida has a losing road mark. The Panthers have lost by multiple goals in six of their past seven defeats. The Panthers have won by multiple goals in four of their past five victories. Take the Senators laying 1.5 goals on the puckline.

Ottawa had 97 points last year, ranking 13th in goals given up and seventh in save percentage behind newcomer goalie Linus Ullmark, who is back. The offense was 12th on the power play. They come off a win at Tampa Bay in the opener, 5-4, as a +152 underdog. Florida has won its first two, though it hasn't been easy, nipping Chicago (3-2) and Philadelphia (2-1). They lost the faceoff battle to the Flyers the last time out, 41-26. Ottawa is 6-3 in its previous nine as an underdog. Play Ottawa.

Florida has won six of the past seven meetings, and the Panthers will look to snap a three-game losing streak. Ottawa has lost five of nine, although it does come off a 2-1 win over Tampa Bay on Thursday. Sergei Bobrovsky is confirmed to start for Florida, and he is 31-17-2 with a 2.55 goals-against average. He had 26 saves in the Panthers' 3-2 loss to Toronto on Wednesday. The Senators have averaged only 2.22 goals in their past nine games and are 5-2-1 UNDER in their past eight. Florida has stayed UNDER 11 of 15 overall and seven of eight against Atlantic Division teams. Five of the past six meetings have gone UNDER. Ottawa has lost four straight after allowing two or fewer goals in their previous game. Florida has won six of seven games with two days' rest. Take the Panthers and the UNDER.