Florida Panthers @ Ottawa Senators
White breaks drought with OT goal
OTTAWA (AP) -- Todd White finally got the puck to go the way he wanted.
White scored at 1:34 of overtime Monday night to lead the Ottawa
Senators to a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers.
Daniel Alfredsson took advantage of a turnover at the Panthers
blue line to send White in alone on goaltender Roberto Luongo.
White deked Luongo before sliding the puck in. He had gone 11 games
without a goal.
"We did throw a lot of rubber at him and we were fortunate to
bury one in overtime," White said. "I've had some good chances
lately, but they haven't gone in, so it's pretty gratifying."
Rookie Antoine Vermette and Martin Havlat also scored for
Ottawa.
Martin Prusek, who shut out the Panthers on Dec. 3, made 19
saves for the Senators. Ottawa won its third straight game and has
lost only one time in six games.
Valeri Bure scored twice and Luongo stopped 42 shots for
Florida, which lost for the first time in three games and for the
second time in seven.
Luongo fell to 1-8-1 in his career against the Senators, who are
11-3 in the last 14 meetings between the teams.
"We're not going to win hockey games if we do two things: turn
the puck over and don't get the puck out of our zone," Luongo
said. "We did that all night and that's why we lost."
It took the Senators just over two minutes to open the scoring.
Vermette bunted a rebound out of the air past Luongo at 2:20, and
Ottawa carried that lead into the second.
"It's nice to put a couple of wins together and get a streak
going and get a positive attitude in the dressing room," Senators
defenseman Zdeno Chara said.
The Panthers tied it at 1:45 of the second during a power play
after Bure took a pass in full flight at the Ottawa blue line. From
the high slot, he snapped a quick shot over Prusek's shoulder.
The goal was the first allowed by the Senators' penalty-killing
unit in seven games.
Bure then added his second 3½ minutes later when he picked up a
rebound in front of the net and lifted the puck over the fallen
Prusek to make it 2-1.
The lead lasted little more than a minute, however. With Ottawa
enjoying its own man advantage, Havlat converted Marian Hossa's
pass to tie it at 6:31.
Hossa has at least a point in six consecutive games.
The Senators outshot the Panthers 22-7 in the second period.
Florida had seven shots in each of the first three periods, but
recorded none in overtime.
"We did some good things, but they did good things for 60
minutes," Florida coach Rick Dudley said. "If you turn the puck
over as many times as we did, you're going to pay for it."Game notes
Ottawa D Brian Pothier missed his third straight game
because of a concussion. ... Florida has earned at least a point in
11 of 14 games. ... When the Toronto Maple Leafs visit Florida on
Dec. 29, the Panthers will accept Canadian money as payment for
tickets in the hope of attracting visitors from Canada.
Regular Season Series
OTT leads 2-1
Game Information
- Referees:
- Stephen Walkom
- Marc Joannette
- Linesmen:
- Dan McCourt
- Derek Nansen

