Senators officially eliminated from playoff race in wacky loss to Panthers
Despite nearly doubling the Florida Panthers in shots (58-30), the Ottawa Senators dropped Thursday’s matchup by a score of 7-2. Rookie netminder Leevi Merilainen struggled to carry over the magic from Tuesday’s matchup in Carolina.
First Period
Brandon Montour would open the scoring for the home team, squeaking one past Meriläinen off of the rush.
Brandon Montour's shot squeaks through Meriläinen.
— Pesky Sickos (@PeskySickos) April 6, 2023
1-0 Florida. #Sens #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/snAs27eIKk
One of the few that the young netminder would have liked back in his second career start.
Aleksander Barkov would find the back of the net from a sharp angle with 6 minutes left in the opening frame, extending the Panthers lead to 2.
The Senators were able to outshoot the Panthers 22-10 in the first period, however, trailing by a score of 2-0.
Second Period
The middle frame of tonight’s game had a little bit of everything, goals and penalty minutes filled up the score sheet, as the period took nearly an hour to complete.
On the 12th shot of the night, Barkov was able to once again sneak one by Merilainen, ultimately ending the young goaltender’s night after a sub-optimal start to the game.
Barkov's 12th career shorthanded goal.
— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) April 7, 2023
He's now tied with Tom Fitzgerald for the 2nd-most in #FlaPanthers history. pic.twitter.com/02NMa8AB4H
Not long after, Claude Giroux would corral the bouncing puck and find the back of the net past the outstretched Alex Lyon, Drake Batherson was credited with an assist on the play at 4:25.
In the midst of a ferocious period of hockey, Brady Tkachuk would be ejected after being the second fight on the ice, following his collision with Lyon.
Brady Tkachuk receives a game misconduct after fighting twice during this stoppage 😳 pic.twitter.com/RW3stssUYi
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 7, 2023
Sam Reinhart, Eetu Luostarinen, Nick Cousins, and Gustav Forsling would all find the back of the net past Mads Søgaard, adding insult to an already worn-out Senators squad. After two periods of play the Panthers led by a score of 7-1, despite being outshot 41-22.
Third Period
Ridly Greig would finally get another one past the spectacular Lyon, making the score 7-2 with just a few minutes left to play.
Somehow, someway, the Senators were able to set a franchise record for shots (58) the same night they endure a 7-2 drubbing by their Atlantic Rivals. This was also an extremely chippy affair between the two rivals, resulting in a total penalty minute mark that hadn’t been touched in several years.
The Senators return to action on Saturday, April 7 when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning for their second last home game of the season.