This past Thursday, the Ottawa Senators began their 2025-26 season with a 5-4 road win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Then, it was time for another road game in Florida against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
Last season, the Senators won two of the three games in the season series. In a new season, the defending champions showed why they're the defending champions on home ice.
The Panthers defeated the Senators 6-2 at Amerant Bank Arena. The Senators dropped to 1-1-0 to begin the 2025-26 season with the loss.
The Senators had the same lineup from game one against Tampa, which meant Drake Batherson, Tyler Kleven and Jordan Spence all wouldn't be in the lineup.
Just like Thursday, the Senators found themselves trailing 2-0 in the first period. Brad Marchand and Evan Rodrigues each scored a goal against Linus Ullmark in a span of 3:46 less than halfway into the game.
In the final minutes of the first period, Shane Pinto scored his third goal of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1 before the period ended, but Aaron Ekblad regained the two-goal lead for Florida with a powerplay goal 35 seconds into the second period. Then late in the period, Anton Lundell scored another powerplay goal for Florida to extend the lead to 4-1 heading into the second intermission.
The Panthers added a third powerplay goal of the game when Mackie Samoskevich scored to extend the lead to 5-1 at 5:29 of the third period. Three powerplay goals allowed after Pinto's goal is making the penalty kill be a major concern for the Senators just two games into the season.
Sam Reinhart scored later in the third period to make it 6-1 and four consecutive goals by Florida. Through two games, Ullmark is off to a rough start with allowing in 10 goals in the first two games of the season.
If the Senators want one positive from tonight's game it was Pinto recording his second consecutive two-goal game to start the season.
The Senators will return to action on Canadian Thanksgiving this Monday afternoon when they host the Nashville Predators. Puck drop is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET at Canadian Tire Centre. The Senators swept the two-game season series against the Predators last season.