Feb 8, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Jesper Boqvist (70) moves the puck against the Ottawa Senators during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/3b4ce263-fd14-44e1-82ae-4cb2020c4c78.jpeg] Feb 8, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Jesper Boqvist (70) moves the puck against the Ottawa Senators during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images) The Florida Panthers are hoping a couple days off will help cure whatever is ailing them. Florida arrives at Canadian Tire Centre for a battle with the Ottawa Senators having lost each of their past three games. After dropping a home-and-home with the Montreal Canadiens, the Panthers saw their latest third period lead vanish on Wednesday night in Toronto. The down week has cost the Cats their spot atop the Atlantic Division, as they now sit in third place, four points behind the Maple Leafs and one behind Tampa Bay. All three teams have seven games remaining on their respective regular season schedules. Florida will also be playing quite a bit shorthanded, missing Sasha Barkov, Nico Sturm, Dmitry Kulikov and Matthew Tkachuk due to injury. Aaron Ekblad is also out until Game 3 of the playoffs due to a suspension. Ottawa, meanwhile, has solidified their spot in the Wild Card race thanks to an 11-3-1 March run. Entering Saturday with a seven-point cushion on the New York Rangers, the first time out of the playoffs, the Senators can close to within four points of the Panthers with a regulation win. Game on. Don't forget, it's a 2 p.m. ET puck drop. Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Saturday’s scrum with the Sens: Jesper Boqvist – Sam Bennett – Sam Reinhart Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand Carter Verhaeghe – Evan Rodrigues – Mackie Samoskevich A.J. Greer – Tomas Nosek – Jonah Gadjovich Gus Forsling – Seth Jones Niko Mikkola – Nate Schmidt Jaycob Megna – Uvis Balinskis Scratches: Sasha Barkov, Nico Sturm, Dmitry Kulikov LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA The Hockey Show: Playoff chases, Islanders mess and Roy's Sidney Crosby podcast [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/the-hockey-show-playoff-chases-islanders-mess-and-roys-sidney-crosby-podcast] Panthers captain Sasha Barkov day-to-day with injury after missing game in Toronto [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-captain-sasha-barkov-day-to-day-with-injury-after-missing-game-in-toronto] Three takeaways: Panthers shots not getting through, Bobrovsky hits another milestone [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-panthers-shots-not-getting-through-bobrovsky-hits-another-milestone] Panthers center Sam Bennett reaches new career high in points [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/panthers-center-sam-bennett-reaches-new-career-high-in-points] Reeling Panthers drop third straight game, falling 3-2 in Toronto [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/reeling-panthers-drop-third-straight-game-falling-3-2-in-toronto]
