RECAP: Panthers 2, Senators 0

SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers continue to fine-tune their game.

With the playoffs right around the corner, they kicked off their final homestand of the season with a 2-0 win over the Ottawa Senators at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday.

Recording his second shutout of the season, Anthony Stolarz stopped all 25 shots he faced.

“We kind of just kept them to the outside,” said Stolarz, who improved to 15-7-2 on the season. “Guys did a good job of being in lanes. Blocking shots is huge as well, especially down the stretch and in the playoffs. Kudos to the guys in front of me, they did a good job.”

With the win, the Panthers (49-24-6) maintained their three-point lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs (46-23-9) for second place in the Atlantic Division. They also gained some ground on the Boston Bruins (46-18-15) for first place, trailing now by just three points.

For Stolarz, getting to play in meaningful games like these down the stretch is a dream come true.

“I’m usually kind of packing up right now and getting ready to go home,” the 30-year-old veteran said of getting his first taste of the playoff race. “To be in the hunt and in the playoffs is huge and exciting. You go out here and these games mean a lot, trying to play for positioning. You always want to stay ready.”

After the Panthers said they expected the Senators to be “angry and feisty” leading into tonight’s matchup, the fighting began just 2:20 into the first period when Jonah Gadjovich dropped the gloves with Ottawa defenseman Zack MacEwen, landing several big blows.

At 6:51, Niko Mikkola went toe-to-toe with Senators forward Ridly Greig.

While the action was exciting for the fans in the stands, Panthers head coach Paul Maurice wasn’t thrilled with how his team was executing in the early goings of the game.

“Tomorrow we’ll look at some things I didn’t like that we did, especially early in the game that set the tone for our game,” Maurice said. “We would feel that we’re responsible with how the game’s played and how we play. We’ll deal with that tomorrow, and then this one’s done. I’m not going to spend a whole lot of time breaking it down in terms of who was good and who wasn’t. We’ll take a look and say these are the things we can’t do at the start."

Breaking the ice for the Panthers on the power play, Stolarz caught the Senators in a change and found Anton Lundell waiting for a pass at the opposing blue line. After taking the dish from his goaltender, Lundell went five-hole on a breakaway to make it 1-0 at 12:02.

When asked about the set-up pass after the game, the young Finn cracked a smile.

“We were joking that we haven’t even seen a pass like that from our own D this season, and then he does that” said Lundell, who’s lit the lamp in three of his last four games. “That was a real pass. He saw I was open, and it was right on my tape.”

Finding the back of the net for the second time in three games, Nick Cousins doubled the lead for the Panthers just a few minutes later when he pounced on a loose puck in the slot and fired a shot past Ottawa goaltender Joonas Korpisalo’s blocker and into the twine to make it 2-0 at 14:48.

“He brings it all,” Panthers forward Sam Bennett said of Cousins, who’s been stepping up on the second line with Carter Verhaeghe sidelined by an injury until the playoffs. “He’s got a little edge to him. He plays physical and he can make plays. A great shot to bury one tonight. He’s fit in there nicely.”

With both teams dumping and chasing, the second period came and went without much in terms of offense as the Panthers and Senators combined for just seven shots on goal. Not giving up anything around their net, the Panthers also led 2-0 in high-danger shot attempts in the period.

In the third period, the Panthers continued to contain the Senators, while also not generating much in the other direction. Helping keep his blank sheet intact, Stolarz laid out to make a big stop on a shot from in close with just under three minutes left in regulation.

Eventually locking down the 2-0 win, the Panthers successfully completed a season sweep of the Senators. Going a perfect 4-0-0, they shut out the Senators three times while leading 16-2 in goals. With a 3-for-3 performance tonight, they also finished 17-for-17 on the penalty kill in the series.

Overall, players feel like tonight's win was another good step toward the postseason.

“I think it was a pretty simple game,” Bennett said. “We didn’t try to do too much. We just played a solid game. We could’ve done a better job of dumping more pucks, getting in better on the forecheck, but for the most part we held them to not many chances, and Stolie obviously played great.”

THEY SAID IT

“I like to keep it light. I don’t try to get serious. I try to cherish every time I get to go out there. It’s obviously special, what we do. Looking at my kind of career path, coming in here I kind of knew there was an opportunity to do something special with this team.” – Anthony Stolarz

“We’ll take the 2-0 win. I’m absolutely taking it, for sure. I’m taking 2-0 over 7-6 all day long.” – Paul Maurice

“That’s our game. When we’re responsible defensively, then the offense comes. That’s when we’re paying our best. That’s going to be our focus here.” – Sam Bennett

“We played decent. There’s stuff we can do even better, but overall I think we played a pretty solid game. Stolie was great in net. We just tried to help him as much as we could.” – Anton Lundell

CATS STATS

- Florida’s 63 power-play goals are tied for the fifth-most in a season in franchise history.

- The Panthers have swept a four-game season series with Ottawa for the second time in franchise history.

- Anton Lundell recorded a team-high three takeaways.

- Nick Cousins and Niko Mikkola each tallied a team-high four hits.

- Antony Stolarz made four high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com

- The Panthers surrendered just three high-danger shot attempts at 5-on-5.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Just three games to go in the regular season.

Looking to keep on building during their homestand, the Panthers will return to the ice to host the Columbus Blue Jackets (26-40-12) at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.

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