Reinhart scores twice, Panthers shut out Senators

OTTAWA -- Sam Reinhart scored twice for the Florida Panthers in a 5-0 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Monday.

Reinhart has scored 15 goals this season, which is tied for the NHL lead with Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks and Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“That’s the kind of game we’re wanting to play, trying not to give them too much,” Reinhart said. “They’re such a good rush team, so we came out with that mentality tonight. When we start playing like that, we kind of get in a rhythm. After the last game or two, it’s nice to kind of get that feeling back in the room.”

Aleksander Barkov had three assists, and Sam Bennett had a goal and an assist for the Panthers (13-7-1), who had lost two straight (outscored 6-1).

“I liked our game those first two periods,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “We had a real tough outing against Winnipeg (a 3-0 loss on Friday) and it didn’t look anything like the kind of game that we wanted to play. You know, even in the third (on Monday) it gets a little squirrelly, but the first two periods, for sure, in terms of how we want to play the game technically, we were pretty good.”

Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves. It was his second shutout this season and 40th in the NHL.

“I thought the guys did a great job to give them nothing,” Bobrovsky said. “Forwards especially. They backchecked, they filled the lanes very well, they didn’t give them much room.”

Joonas Korpisalo, who missed the previous two games with an undisclosed injury, made 33 saves for the Senators (8-9-0), who have lost two in a row.

“We didn't come out ready to play hard enough,” Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. “They put it in, they went after us, they pinched the walls, they hit us. That’s as competitive a team as there is, and we talked about that, and we weren't ready when the game started.”

Reinhart gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 1:28 of the first period, scoring a power-play goal with a one-timer from the low slot off a bumper pass from Matthew Tkachuk.

Reinhart then made it 2-0 with another power-play goal at 5:59 of the second period. He finished a wraparound into an open net after Korpisalo misplayed a dump-in behind the net.

“The first few special teams put us in a good position,” Reinhart said. “We came out with a playoff mentality, trying to get our power play going a little bit.”

Smith challenged Reinhart's second goal for offside, but the call on the ice was confirmed after a video review, resulting in a delay of game penalty. On the ensuing power play, Bennett made it 3-0 at 7:09 after he made a move around Travis Hamonic in the bottom of the left circle and scored in tight with a backhand.

“They came out heavier than us,” Senators forward Claude Giroux said. “They won more battles, and in the first 10 minutes it was all them. And they came out hard and we didn't. That's the bottom line.

“I want to win hockey games. We need to, I don’t know. ... It’s really tough to say right now because a lot of things happened tonight. And you know, it's frustrating because we know we can be better. We definitely need to figure this out.”

Florida went 3-for-7 on the power play. Ottawa was 0-for-6.

“It’s good that our power play, our special teams, in the end won us the game,” Maurice said. “Our goaltender made a couple of saves that he had to make to keep it right, but our penalty kill was as good as our power play tonight, and that won us the game.”

Carter Verhaeghe pushed it to 4-0 at 11:59 of the third period with a one-timer glove side from the left hash marks during a 4-on-4.

Eetu Luostarinen made it 5-0 at 16:32, sliding a backhand into an open net past an unsuspecting Korpisalo after Artem Zub tripped and lost the puck behind the net.

“It's not just one person, it's just our whole group. We just need to be better,” Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk said. "There's always lessons to be learned in each game, and I still have all the faith in what we're doing here. I have faith in our group and our support staff, and I know we're going to turn the ship around here.”

The Panthers and Senators combined for 167 penalty minutes, including twelve game misconducts, 10 of which were handed out following a scrum at 12:38 of the third.

“That’s mild. We only got to about 160-some minutes there. It’s got to get into the 250s before it gets too squirrelly," Maurice said. "Sometimes hockey can get like that. That’s part of why the game’s so darn great, because it’s graceful and beautiful and physical and angry all at the same time. Probably good for both teams. You get to make it part of the story of your year.”

NOTES: Each of Barkov's three assists came on the power play. He has 192 power-play points in his career, passing Jonathan Huberdeau (190) for the most in Panthers history. … Bennett entered the night with just one goal in eight games this season. ... Florida defenseman Brandon Montour had the secondary assist on Bennett's goal. It was his first point in five games this season.