Ottawa @ Florida preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 19, 2018 ) Florida 7, Ottawa 5

The Florida Panthers extended their point streak to five games (2-0-3) last time out, but they didn't get the result they needed in order to improve their chances for a postseason berth. Florida hopes for a better outcome when it plays at home for the 14th time in 18 games Sunday against the Ottawa Senators.

The Panthers allowed two goals in the first 2:05 of their contest against visiting Carolina on Saturday but rallied to take the lead early in the third period on rookie Henrik Borgstrom's second tally of the night before suffering a 4-3 overtime loss. Florida entered Saturday nine points out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference but exited with a 10-point deficit for the position. Ottawa's fortunes remained the same despite its recent coaching change as it began a three-game road trip Saturday by dropping a 5-1 decision in Tampa Bay for its seventh straight loss and ninth in 10 contests. Anthony Duclair scored the lone goal for the Senators, who fired Guy Boucher on Friday and replaced him on an interim basis with former Stanley Cup-winning coach Marc Crawford.

TV: 5 p.m. ET, TSN5, RDS2 (Ottawa), FS Florida

ABOUT THE SENATORS (22-38-5): Duclair, who was acquired from Columbus during Ottawa's housecleaning spree prior to the trade deadline, has recorded two goals in his first four games with the club. The 23-year-old left wing, who is with his fifth team of his five-season NHL career, has netted 29 tallies and set up 30 others in 171 contests since registering 20 goals and 24 assists in 81 games with Arizona in 2015-16. Defenseman Thomas Chabot has set career highs in goals (13), assists (34) and points but has been kept off the scoresheet in five of his last six contests.

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (28-25-11): Borgstrom had a memorable performance on Saturday as he halted his 11-game goal-scoring drought with a career-high two tallies and finished with a personal-best three points. The 21-year-old Finn, who was the 23rd overall pick in the 2016 draft, has registered seven goals and six assists in 33 contests this season after recording one tally in his first four NHL games last campaign. Defenseman Mark Pysyk notched his first multi-point effort of 2018-19 on Saturday, an outing that included his first goal of the season.

OVERTIME

1. Panthers LW Jamie McGinn recorded two assists on Saturday, giving him five points in six games after missing the majority of the season with a back injury.

2. Ottawa has surrendered five or more goals 22 times this season.

3. Florida rookie LW Dryden Hunt has collected three assists in his last two games after notching one over his first 15 contests this season.

PREDICTION: Senators 3, Panthers 2