SUNRISE, Fla. -- Reilly Smith missed an easy chance for a goal, indicative of the kind of night it was for the Florida Panthers.

On the other side, Erik Karlsson produced two assists and Kyle Turris scored the go-ahead goal as the Ottawa Senators defeated the Panthers 2-1 on Sunday night at the BB&T Center.

Craig Anderson picked up the win by making 37 saves, including the glove stop on Smith in the second period. Anderson dived to his left to make the stop, quickly plugging a huge gap on Smith's right side.

"He fanned on it, so I think I got a lucky break there," Anderson said of Smith's shot that would have tied the score 2-2. "He didn't get all of it, and I was able to track it because it was slow enough to where I could react.

"If he gets all of that -- a slapshot at 90 miles per hour -- you are not going to stop it unless it hits you."

Anderson, who played for the Panthers from 2006 to 2009, is 14-7-2 in his career against Florida and still has a home in the area.

"This has always been kind of home for me," said Anderson, who won his 142nd NHL game, four short of tying Patrick Lalime for the franchise record.

"It's a little more emotional for me. You seem to get up for those games where you have friends and family in the stands. You want to make sure you don't embarrass yourself."

Karlsson, who has 44 assists this season, certainly didn't get embarrassed. He set up a short-handed goal by Zach Smith in the first period and also Turris' second-period score. It was Smith's 15th goal of the season, including three short-handed. Turris has 21 goals this season, 18 at even strength.

Ottawa (32-21-6) has 72 points, good for second place in the Atlantic Division, two points behind the Montreal Canadiens.

Florida (28-23-10) has 66 points, which ranks fifth in the Atlantic. The Panthers have also lost four consecutive home games, but they have not lost confidence, judging by their postgame comments.

"We're right in the race with Ottawa," Panthers center Aleksander Barkov said. "We just need to win these close games. We played well, but that's not enough."

Florida got only a first-period power-play goal from Jonathan Marchessault. It was Marchessault's 19th goal of the season, with six coming on the power play.

However, Florida went just 1 of 5 on its power play, including a failure in the final six minutes of the game.

Despite that, Panthers interim coach Tom Rowe said his players gave a great effort.

"We were unlucky, that's all," Rowe said. "The puck is not bouncing our way."

Ottawa scored first, getting Smith's short-handed goal with 6:28 expired in the first period. The Senators created a two-on-one opportunity and James Reimer (31 saves) made a kick save on shot by Karlsson. But the rebound landed perfectly for Zach Smith, who deposited the easy chance.

"The puck got stuck on the boards, and there was a space open in the middle," Karlsson said when asked to describe the play. "I was just hoping the puck would pop out, and it did.

"(Florida) was cheating a bit (on the offensive end), and we took advantage. I made a good shot in the end, not so good to start, and Smitty was there to put it in. I was trying to score blocker side. It didn't go where I wanted, but it turned out to be a pretty good play."

The Panthers tied the score on Marchessault's power-play goal with 2:47 left in the first period. Jonathan Huberdeau and Keith Yandle picked up assists as the Panthers moved the puck quickly, catching Anderson out of position.

With the two teams skating four-aside, Ottawa went up 2-1 with 9:58 expired in the second period. Karlsson's pass sprung Turris, who beat Reimer to the short side.

The Senators hung on from there, splitting their four-game season series with Florida.

"We had to fight adversity in this game," said Karlsson, referencing the five power-play opportunities awarded Florida. "They are a division rival. They've been playing good hockey. We gave them limited opportunities other than the power play."

NOTES: Slumping Panthers G Roberto Luongo has only played two of the past six games after resting again vs. Ottawa. He hasn't allowed less than two goals in a game since Jan. 11. ... Florida released C Greg McKegg and recalled C Denis Malgin from its AHL affiliate. Malgin was scratched along with D Jakub Kindl. .. Ottawa sent LW Max McCormick and RW Casey Bailey to its AHL affiliate. Each has played seven NHL games this season. ... Ottawa RW Mark Stone (neck) and C Mike Hoffman (groin) returned from injuries. Both had missed two games. ... Ottawa recalled C Phil Varone and Michael Blunden. But Blunden, C Curtis Lazar and D Fredrik Claesson were scratched. ... Ottawa LW Bobby Ryan (finger) is expected to miss another month. ... Ottawa plays at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday. Florida plays host to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.