Recap - Panthers at Columbus from Tuesday and Panthers gameday vs Ottawa 7:30 pm 3/31 in Sunrise

COLUMBUS, OH - The Florida Panthers fell to the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 in a shootout on Tuesday night. It was the second night in a row the Panthers fell in the shootout.

Scotty Upshall, recently acquired from Phoenix, started the scoring at the 7:06 mark of the 1st. His hart snap shot ringed off the post or crossbar over Scott Clemmensen and in. It was his 21st of the season.

In the second Sergei Samsonov took a shot that went off the post and then off goaltender Steve Mason. It made it right to David Booth who tipped it into a wide open net to tie it at 1 3:41 in. It was Booth's 22nd.

Nearly 19 minutes in, Antoine Vermette scored his 18th goal in much the same way Booth scored his. The save was made by Clemmensen and Vermette was on the doorstep to put it home to put the Blue Jackets up a goal.

The Panthers came back, though. Evgeny Dadanov scored his 8th 7:31 in. He got the feed from Jason Garrison and went in...when he saw he had no shot on Mason, he hustled around for a complete wrap around goal. It was a beauty that sent us into overtime and a shootout.

The shootout stats: Panthers 0-3, Blue Jackets 1-3. Final score: 3-2 Blue Jackets.

Three Stars:

1. Steve Mason (W)
2. Maksim Mayorov (Shotout Goal)
3. Scott Clemmensen (L)

PANTHERS GAME DAY

Florida Panthers (29-36-12 70 points)

vs

Ottawa Senators (29-38-10 68 points) 

Thursday, March 31, 2011 7:30 PM BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise, FL

TV: FS-Florida (Steve Goldstein,Bill Lindsay), SNET-East (Ottawa) (Dean Brown, Denis Potvin)

RADIO: 560 WQAM (Miami) (Randy Moller), Team 1200 (Ottawa) (Dean Brown, Gord Wilson, Dave Schreiber)

* * *

BATTLE FOR LAST: Ottawa has won all 3 matchups this year, and Panthers fans won't be upset if they take 1 more. The Sens are 2 points behind the Panthers for worst in the East. With a loss, the Panthers would sit in the 3rd worst spot in the East, holding a tiebreaker with Ottawa and the Islanders. The two teams will be playing hard, though. Pride and potentially jobs next year are on the line for both squads. 

RETOOLING: Floirda and Ottawa share a common goal: Retooling. Both teams are building for the future. Ottawa traded away Chris Campoli to Chicago on the trade deadline day and Mike Fisher left to join his country music star wife, Carrie Underwood, in Nashville a few weeks prior. Ottawa also took part in a "goalie swap", flipping Brian Elliott to Colorado in exchange for former Panther Craig Anderson. Elliott has had little success since joining Colorado, posting an 0-3 record. Anderson, however, is 5-3 since stepping in as the Senator's starter.

HEY, NOW...YOU'RE AN ALL STAR: Looking forward to next season, Ottawa will be hosting the NHL All Star Game in 2012. It will mark only the third time since 2000 that a Canadian team will host the mid-winter classic. This also marks the second time the All Star Game will be in a nations Capital. In 1982, the Washington Capitals hosted the game, with the Wales Conference beating the Campbell Conference 4-2 at the Capital Centre. It is fitting that the team will host next year, as it will be the 20th season of the current version of the Senators. 

PRODBABLE GOALIES:

FLA - Scott Clemmensen

OTT - Craig Anderson