Noel Acciari Hat Trick And Panthers Snap Senators

     Noel Acciari scored three goals as the Florida Panthers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 6-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Monday night at BB&T Center. The Panthers finish their franchise record nine-game home stand against the Dallas Stars on Friday night. Jonathan Huberdeau played in his 500th NHL game with the Cats and had a career-high four assists in the contest for his 400th career point.
     Florida(16-12-5) got up on a power-play goal to make it 1-0 at the 9:42 mark. Huberdeau scooted  the puck through the right circle to the slot area where Keith Yandle was. He pushed it ahead and Noel Acciari backhanded a shot from the top of the crease by Anders Nilsson.
     The Panthers made it a two-goal margin at 1:18 of the second period. Huberdeau picked up the loose puck in the high slot and carried it to the low slot. He angled a pass to his left and Acciari put in a forehand shot from the left of the crease for his second tally of the game.
     Ottawa(14-18-2) responded 47 seconds later and they were down 2-1. Logan Brown centered it from the right-wing board to Tyler Ennis in the top right circle. He passed ahead and Antem Anisimov scored on a wrist shot from the right of the crease past Sergei Bobrovsky for his fifth goal of the year.
     The Cats regained a two-goal gap at the 5:41 mark with the main advantage. Huberdeau backhanded a pass across the blue paint from the left side and Aleksander Barkov slid in a forehand shot for his 11th goal of the season.
     Acciari complete the hat trick with 9:27 left in the second period when he backhanded the puck in the cage from the blue paint for a 4-1 lead. MacKenzie Weegar and Aaron Ekblad were credited with assists on the play.
     It became a 5-1 gap for the Panthers with 4:54 remaining in the frame. Huberdeau carried the puck around the Sens net and backhanded it from the end wall. Mike Matheson smashed a one-time slap shot from the left circle for his second goal of the season. Huberdeau picked up his fourth assist in the game nnd 400th NHL point on the assist.
     Florida expanded their lead to 6-1 with 31.7 seconds remaining in the second. Ekblad fired a shot from the right corner below the goal line and it was redirected in by Dominic Toninato. The Panthers scored five goals in a period for the 10th time in franchise history.