Yesterday my headline was "ice cold vs red hot" and that was the case, but the risk for the Panthers (who if you didn't know were the "red hot" part of the game, was looking past the lowly Senators and this one being a so-called "trap game".
Well, that is exactly what happened as the Senators jumped on them early, netting a goal in the first minute on a goal from Matt Duchene, and doubled it later in the frame courtesy Magnus Paajarvi.
The Senators didn't come out for the second period, as has been the case so many times this season and it showed. They didn't get a shot for almost the first 13 minutes of the middle frame, and by the time the dust settled and they limped to the dressing room they were outshot 17-2 in the period and the score was tied at 2.
However, Paajarvi got his second of the game in the first minute of the third to get back on track a little bit. Florida didn't give up and tied the game again before Duchene's second of the night with three minutes left proved to be the game winner and J-G Pagaeau iced it 1:15 later.
Erik Karlsson and Mike Hoffman each had a pair of assists as the Senators played without their offensive leader this season, Mark Stone.
Craig Anderson held the fort during the second period barrage and stopped 35 of 38 shots overall for the win in the city he now calls home.
It was a tough loss for the Panthers, who lost ground in their attempt to claw their way into the playoffs, and snapped their 8 game home winning streak and 9 game stretch without a regulation loss.
The Senators will need a similar goaltending performance, and maybe a better one, from Mike Condon tonight as the Senators head across the state to face the well-rested Lightning in Tampa for the tough back-to-back.
Tampa has been just as hot as the Panthers over the last month or so, and with the win over Montreal in their last game on Saturday they hit the 100 point mark with 13 games to go in the season.
They have won 5 straight, are 9-0-1 in their last 10 games, and now they have had a couple of days rest to get ready for their matchup with the weary Senators. They will have 3 more days off after tonight before their next game, so you can expect Jon Cooper to put the pedal to the metal in this one, so don't expect a similar performance to that which the Panthers put forth.
They play the Bruins on Saturday, the team that is chasing them in the standings and they will want to maintain that six point gap as the Bruins, with two games in hand, play in Carolina tonight and at the Panthers on Thursday before what could be a first-place showdown on Saturday (one of three Bruins-Lightning games in the last month of the season).
Nikita Kucherov still leads the league in scoring, just a point up on the hard-charging Evgeni Malkin and four ahead of Connor McDavid. Steven Stamkos sits sixth in league scoring as the dynamic duo lead the league's most potent offense.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has carried the load for the Lightning in goal and had indicated earlier this month that he was tired, has had 5 days off since his last action and should be well rested.
All of which points to a Lightning win, but the again given the facts you would have thought the Panthers would get their two points last night, and the Senators have nothing to do but play the spoiler for a division rival, especially their expansion cousin who has already won a cup and look poised to compete for another this spring.
Ryan McDonagh made his Lightning debut for on Saturday, returning from injury and playing over 19 minutes against the Habs after missing over a month of action and getting dealt from the Rangers at the deadline. Meanwhile, the other part of that deal, J.T. Miller has six points in six games and has fit in nicely, bringing a different element to the team than Vlad Namestnikov (who went the other way) brought, which will help them in the playoffs as well.
They have split the three meetings so far this season, with Tampa winning the first matchup in a shootout before Ottawa won 6-3 in early January. Tampa staved off a late Senators comeback attempt to hang on for the 4-3 win a couple of weeks back at Canadian Tire Centre.
Tampa isn't in the same position as the Panthers in terms of needing a win in this one to help their playoff hopes, because the Bolts will be in the post-season. But, they can't shake the Bruins and dropping these two points to the Senators wouldn't bode well for them heading into what should be a tough matchup. Expect the Lightning's best effort and I think they will learn from the Panthers mistake and not take the Senators lightly, lest they fall into the same trap.