RECAP: Panthers 5, Senators 0

OTTAWA – Let’s go through a quick checklist, shall we?

167 combined penalties minutes? Check.

A big showing on special teams? Check.

Two points in the bank? Check.

In an entertaining game that had a little something for everyone, the Florida Panthers kicked off their road trip with a 5-0 beatdown of the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Monday.

With the win, Florida snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 13-7-1.

“Sometimes hockey can get like that,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “That’s why the game’s so darn great. It’s graceful, beautiful, physical and angry all at the same time."

After getting shut out in their last game, the Panthers got back on their horse in a hurry in Ottawa.

Just 1:28 into the first period, Sam Reinhart broke the ice when he finished off a nifty tic-tac-toe passing sequence by ripping a shot past Joonas Korpisalo from the slot to make it 1-0.

On the play, Aleksander Barkov recorded the 400^th assist of his NHL career.

Making big plays on the other side of the special teams battle as well, the Panthers kept their early lead intact when they killed off all four minutes of a power play for the Senators following a double-minor penalty at 8:45. On that clutch penalty kill, they allowed just one shot.

“The PK has been good,” Barkov said. “We just need to keep going.”

Back on the power play in the second period, the Panthers doubled their lead after a mistake from Korpisalo, who came out of his net to play the puck behind the net. With Ottawa’s goalie not getting back to his cage in time, Reinhart quickly wrapped in a goal to make it 2-0 at 5:59.

Reinhart is tied for first in the NHL with seven power-play goals.

After the Senators unsuccessfully challenged for offside, the Panthers struck for a third time with the extra attacker. Taking a pass from Barkov in the left circle, Sam Bennett toe dragged around a D-man before burying a backhander from on top of the crease to make it 3-0 at 7:09.

“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. … Bobbo (Bobrovsky) came up with some big [saves], especially in the second. The third was pretty self-explanatory. Nice to get through it.”

While there was some verbal sparring and plenty of chippiness earlier in the game, tempers boiled over in the third period and things got ugly when Senators forward Zack MacEwen went out of his way to target Tkachuk with an elbow to the head along the wall in the neutral zone.

After hitting Tkachuk, MacEwen then proceeded to tackle him down to the ice.

Following a review, MacEwen was assessed a five-minute match penalty.

Soon after, Tkachuk dropped the gloves with Ottawa defenseman Jake Sanderson.

With the penalties continuing to pile up for both teams, Carter Verhaeghe, with the action at 4-on-4, took a nice dish from Dmitry Kulikov and buried a wicked one-timer from the high slot to make it 4-0 at 11:59.

Then the powder keg really exploded.

After Brady Tkachuk interfered with Bobrovsky following a big one-on-one stop for the Cats goaltender, a brawl broke out behind Florida’s net. With officials finally having seen enough, every skater – sans the goaltenders – that was on the ice received a 10-minute misconduct.

Certainly not something you see every day.

“We just wanted to keep going the same way,” Barkov said of the team's ability to keep its eye on the prize throughout the unusual ebbs and flows of the game. “I know there were a lot of penalty minutes, but we just came to play hockey and got an important win. That’s all that matters.”

Adding one more goal for good measure, Eetu Luostarinen made it 5-0 at 16:32.

Not lost in all of the chaos, Bobrovsky was unbeatable.

Earning his second shutout of the season and the 40^th of his career, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner stopped all 20 shots he faced, including three key high-danger shots on goal for Ottawa.

“A shutout is teamwork,” said Bobrovsky, who improved his personal record to 10-6-1. “I appreciate my teammates for the hard work they put in. I am lucky to get the shutout.”

After being blanked by the Jets in their last outing, this was quite the response from the Cats.

“We had a real tough outing against Winnipeg that didn’t look anything like the game we want to play,” Maurice said. “Even in the third, it gets a little squirrely. The first two periods, for sure, in terms of technically how we want to play the game we were pretty darn good.”

THEY SAID IT

“He didn’t get a high-volume night, but that save on the power play through the seam was just fantastic for him. I’m happy that it ends up a shutout because he played very well in the Boston game and didn’t get the result.” – Paul Maurice on Sergei Bobrovsky’s performance

“There’s just no rhythm. It is what it is. There’s not much you can do. Just focused on getting Bobby the shutout obviously and keeping the two points in the bag and trying to get out of here and get ready for tomorrow.” – Sam Reinhart on tonight’s penalty-filled game

“It was one of those games. It’s a division rivalry. It was a good game overall. We got two points against a big opponent, a really good opponent. They’ve got a really good team – fast, skilled. It’s a big points for us.” – Sergei Bobrovsky on taking down the Senators

“You don’t see that every night, but what’s most important is the two points that we wanted to get here.” – Aleksander Barkov on starting the road trip off on the right foot

CATS STATS

- Sam Reinhart ranks second in the NHL in road goals (9).

- Aleksander Barkov now stands as the franchise’s all-time leader in power-play points (192).

- The Panthers scored three power-play goals for the first time since April 6, 2023.

- Sergei Bobrovsky recorded his seventh shutout as a member of the Panthers.

- The Panthers surrendered just four shots on goal over six penalty kills.

- Niko Mikkola racked up a team-leading five hits.

- Florida controlled 61.33% of shot attempts at 5-on-5, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

WHAT’S NEXT?

No rest for these Cats!

Facing off for the second time this season, the Panthers will close out their Canadian back-to-back with a tilt against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.

In their first meeting, the Panthers claimed a 3-1 win in Sunrise on Oct. 19.