Florida Panthers Defeat Ottawa Senators For 11th Straight Win

Reilly Smith and Vincent Trocheck led the Florida Panthers to a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night by scoring eight seconds apart from each other in the first period. Aleksander Barkov also scored for the Panthers, who currently lead the Atlantic Division, and goaltender Roberto Luongo won his career-high ninth straight start with 30 saves.

FLORIDA PANTHERS DEFEAT OTTAWA SENATORS FOR 11TH STRAIGHT WIN

Florida’s 11 game-winning streak is the NHL’s longest since the Boston Bruins won 12 consecutive games in March of 2014, according to the NHL.

Luongo made a great save in the first period, and on the following play, Smith deflected Jonathan Huberdeau’s shot to open scoring at 12:01 on Florida’s first shot of the game. Trocheck scored the second goal after Ottawa’s Fredrik Claesson turned the puck over after attempting a no-look pass from the end boards out front of his own net.

Max McCormick and Milan Michalek scored for the Senators and goalie Craig Anderson had 13 total saves.

Caption: NEWARK, NJ – DECEMBER 17: Reilly Smith #18 of the Florida Panthers skates against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on December 17, 2015 in Newark, New Jersey. The Panthers defeated the Devils 5-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)