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Senators snap home skid with rout of Panthers

Feb 24, 2011 - 5:36 AM Ottawa, ON (Sports Network) - Bobby Butler scored twice and Craig Anderson made 23 saves, helping the Ottawa Senators snap a long winless streak at Scotiabank Place with a 5-1 victory over the Florida Panthers.

Jason Spezza added a goal and two assists for the Senators, who carried a 10- game winless streak at home into Wednesday's contest. They got their first home victory since December 26, when they beat Pittsburgh by a 3-1 score.

Ryan Shannon had a goal and an assist in Ottawa's second consecutive win overall. The Senators had not won two in a row since December 23-26.

Scott Clemmensen allowed all five goals on 34 shots for the Panthers, who have dropped four of five.

"They were better than us in their end, they were better than us in our end," Clemmensen said. "We did some good things, but for the most part they deserved to win."

Ottawa got on the board 11:13 into the game, when Butler's shot from the left circle deflected off Florida defenseman Mike Weaver before going in.

Shannon made it a 2-0 game with a power-play score just 36 seconds into the middle period, but Florida got the goal back at 4:18.

Chris Higgins made a deft skating move to continue his possession from the neutral zone into Ottawa's end, shifting around a Senators player as he pushed the puck ahead along the left boards.

He reached the circle before passing to the slot for Radek Dvorak, but the puck never got there, as it hit the skate of Ottawa defenseman Chris Campoli and slid by Anderson.

But Ottawa restored its two-goal edge just past the midway point of the period, after Florida was unable to clear despite numerous attempts. Butler picked the puck from a scrum along the right boards, skated toward the slot and beat Clemmensen with a snap shot.

"Bobby's playing great right now," said Senators forward Milan Michalek. "He's got some confidence, scoring some goals and making some great plays."

Anderson stopped all eight shots he faced in the third period, while Michalek and Spezza scored late in the stanza to secure the victory.

Game Notes

Butler has scored five times in his last five games...Ottawa's home winless streak was its longest since 1995-96, when it dropped 15 straight as the host...Anderson, acquired from Colorado last week, made his home debut for Ottawa...Filip Kuba had two assists for the Senators...Florida fell to 1-2-0 on its four-game road trip, which concludes Friday in Atlanta.