The Panthers took another baby step toward respectability Wednesday night. Too bad moral victories don't count in the standings -- because improvement there is what the team desperately needs.

When asked if it was tough being patient after his team's 4-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators, Panthers coach Pete DeBoer chuckled.

``That's an understatement,'' he said.

The Panthers played one of their most complete games of the season against the Senators, outshooting the visitors and getting plenty of chances around the net.

But Florida gave up three goals in the second period -- one a fluke shot that bounced off Bryan McCabe's skate -- and never fully recovered.

A SOLID EFFORT

``That was by far our best effort for 60 minutes in a game this year,'' said McCabe, who scored Florida's lone goal of the third period to pull the Panthers within one point.

``When things are going bad, you never get the bounces. They got that lucky one off my skate, then score on a breakdown on the next shift. But we stuck with it.''

Had the Panthers been on a winning streak and lost Wednesday, this game would have been looked at differently. But Florida is far from winning, and each loss pulls the team deeper into an abyss it will find hard to escape.

And Florida had plenty of opportunities to score, taking 38 shots -- with at least three bouncing off the iron. Backup goalie Brian Elliott -- in because Pascal Leclaire was battling dizziness and could play only the first 20 minutes -- did a nice job holding off a Florida team that definitely was the aggressor.

``I thought we had a ton of chances all game,'' DeBoer said. ``I don't feel we're a [2-7-1] team, but obviously we are. We're heading in the right direction, doing good things out there. We're not getting rewarded for it. Those things happen.''

The Panthers held leads of 1-0 and 2-1 early in the game but couldn't hold them.

STAYING CLOSE

Steve Reinprecht scored his team-best fifth goal of the season in the opening period when he knocked in a shot from Jordan Leopold. With the score tied in the second, Stephen Weiss gave Florida its second lead when he found a loose puck that bounced off of teammate Rostislav Olesz.

Florida played a strong second period and had a number of great scoring chances but couldn't do anything after Weiss' goal. With the scored knotted at 2, the Panthers had two shots (from Michael Frolik and Weiss) go off the post. Not long after, the Senators made it 3-2 when Nick Foligno's pass hit McCabe's skate and the puck somehow found its way into the net past Tomas Vokoun (1-7-1).

Ottawa got its fourth goal a scant 38 seconds later.

In the third, McCabe got Florida's first goal from a defenseman this season when he got the Panthers only power-play goal of the night. And that was it.

The Panthers now head off on a two-game road trip riding a four-game losing streak.

``We can't have any excuses -- we lost the game and lost two points,'' Leopold said. ``It's frustrating, but we have to plug along.''

• Dmitry Kulikov, who turns 19 on Thursday, recorded his fourth assist in his 10th game. All four of his helpers have come on power-play chances.