Senators Vote Out Panthers

     The Florida Panthers were outhustled by the Ottawa Senators 5-1 at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday night. The Panthers will play their final road game on Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Panthers defensemen Marek Alscher and Ludvig Jansson made their NHL debuts tonight. 

     Ottawa(42-27-10) pushed out to a 1-0 lead with the man advantage at the 6:49 mark of the first period. Jake Sanderson shot the puck and Drake Batherson deflected it in from the crease area for his 33nd goal of the season.

     The Sens increased their lead to 2-0 with 3:00 remaining in the first. Fabian Zetterlund collected his 15th goal of the campaign on a wrist shot from the low right circle. 

     It became 3-0 for the Senators at 3:03 of the third period. Artem Zub snapped a shot from the right circle for his fifth tally of the year.

     Florida(37-38-4) cut the deficit to 3-1 with 5:43 left in the third. Jesper Boqvist chalked up his fourth goal in 2025-26 on a forehand shot from the slot area. 

     Former Panthers player Claude Giroux placed in an empty-net tally for his 14th goal this year with 3:17 to go in the period. Zetterlund would later get his second goal of the game and 16th goal this season with 2:58 remaining in the third to make it 5-1.