Recap: Senators get a point against Panthers

The Senators mounted a big third period comeback on Tuesday in Sunrise Florida, but couldn’t complete the comeback in overtime falling 3-2 to the Panthers.

"We knew it wasn't going to be easy there is a reason they are having a lot of success," Senators defenceman Thomas Chabot said after the game about the Panthers. "Once again we came back in the third, we believed in and obviously every guy in there would rather come out of this with a win, but at the end of the day you have to find some positives."

The Panthers didn’t waste any time taking the lead just 19 seconds into the game. Aaron Ekblad pounced on a loose puck from the blue line and his shot took a fortuitous bounce off Jake Sanderson's stick, sailing over Joonas Korpisalo's glove and into the back of the net.

Just five minutes later, a turnover during a Senators' breakout paved the way for a Sam Reinhart opportunity. Positioned alone to the right of the goal, Reinhart tested Korpisalo’s glove hand but was turned away keeping the lead at a single goal. On the subsequent shift, Reinhart found himself on a two-on-one with Carter Verhaeghe, yet Korpisalo sprawled to shut down the cross-crease chance.

With 6:42 remaining in the period, Brady Tkachuk wrestled free for a breakaway but couldn’t solve Bobrovsky. Despite the Senators creating three chances on the power play, each attempt was turned away by the Panthers’ goalie.

The second period kicked off with the Senators' best chance, initiated Sanderson's great puck control at the blue line. His pass found Greig to the right of the Panthers net, but his one-timer was stopped as well.

In a mid-period turnover at the blue line, Pinto found himself on a two-on-one with Jacob Bernard-Docker but was thwarted by Bobrovsky. Going the other way, Barkov corralled a bouncing puck in front of the Sens' net and took a great shot, but Korpisalo shut the door.

Later, a trip by Oliver Ekman-Larsson on Batherson sent the Senators to the power play again with 7:10 left to play in the period. Batherson nearly tipped a Tarasenko point shot into the Florida net in what turned out to be the best scoring chance of the man-advantage.

Once the penalty ended, Montour located a loose puck in front of the Senators' net, and although his first shot was blocked by Pinto, the second shot navigated through the maze of bodies and eluded Korpisalo.

In the final minute of the period, the Stützle line faced off against Barkov's line. The Ottawa forwards gained the zone first and Claude Giroux ended up with a scoring chance. However, after the play was disrupted, Florida counterattacked. Barkov was hooked on his way to the net, leading to a power play for Florida to commence the third period.

To begin the third period, the Senators stabilized their defensive zone, successfully killing off the penalty. At the 14:24-minute mark, Chabot had his first shot blocked, but he seized the loose puck, spun into open space, and fired it past Bobrovsky to cut the lead in half.

In the ensuing shift, Tarasenko carried the puck down the right wing, and although Bobrovsky knocked down the initial shot, a scramble followed. Brady Tkachuk managed to sneak the puck into the net just after the whistle, sparking a skirmish where Bobrovsky delivered a blocker to the face of the Senators' captain.

With nine minutes left in the third and the Panthers were dominating, forcing three consecutive icings, keeping the Senators on their heels. Ottawa eventually broke out when Chabot and Giroux orchestrated a quick breakout, sending Stützle off with the puck. In an impressive solo effort, Stützle split the defense and slotted the puck between Bobrovsky's pads, leveling the game.

As the period closed a bouncing puck crossed the Sens' crease, and Ryan Lomberg swatted it toward the goal where Korpisalo made the save, trapping the puck between his glove and blocker.

Overtime kicked-off with the Panthers securing the draw and maintaining possession. With 55 seconds played in extra time Verhaeghe's backhand attempt was nabbed by Korpisalo. The second faceoff of overtime was won by the Senators. Chabot made a skillful move to get by the forechecker. His pass sent Tkachuk and Pinto on a two-on-one, but Bobrovsky's blocker denied Brady Tkachuk's seeing-eye shot.

The Panthers regrouped and eventually found Anton Lundell on the cycle. Lundell drove to the net and found a hole on Korpisalo's short side for the overtime winner.

The Senators head back home tonight and regroup to take on the Dallas Stars in their final meeting of the season on Thursday night.