Florida at Ottawa

Florida has scored 18 goals in its last three games, beating Columbus 7-3, Vancouver 3-2 in overtime, and Seattle 8-3 for a third straight win. Brady Tkachuk had a hat trick against Columbus and another against Vancouver, and he returns to Ottawa, the team that traded him in June, with six goals in nine games. Aleksander Barkov has been on injured reserve since early October, so the offense found that rhythm without its captain. Jacob Markstrom is out 10 to 14 days after being hit by a puck in practice, per coach Paul Maurice on Tuesday. In the two games Akira Schmid started this month, Florida beat Columbus and Vancouver, scoring 10 goals between them. Linus Ullmark has a 1.33 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage for Ottawa. The Senators lost 3-1 at Philadelphia on Saturday, and defenseman Thomas Chabot left that game injured. The club said Monday that he will miss 1 to 2 weeks. Ottawa has already dressed 10 defensemen this season. Florida is 5-2-2, and at even money we need it to win only half the time. With Chabot out, Ottawa's blue line is without its captain, and I'm taking Florida on the moneyline tonight.