Two nights ago, the Ottawa Senators began their 2025-26 regular season with a 5-4 road win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now, the scene in the Sunshine State for the Senators shifts from Tampa to Sunrise for a showdown against the Florida Panthers.
Taking on the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions in the second game of the season offers as a challenge for any team, but it's a challenge the Senators will have to embrace.
Sens take on Cats in Florida
The Senators travel to Amerant Bank Arena to take on the Panthers. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
On Thursday night, the Senators began the new season with a thrilling comeback win against the Lightning. The Senators were down 3-1 after the first period, then won the game 5-4 in regulation.
In the win, Shane Pinto, Brady Tkachuk and Artem Zub each recorded a three-point game, and Jake Sanderson recorded a two-assist game. With the roster put together and the comeback win, the Senators showed they are an enticing team one game into this season.
For the Panthers, they have won both of their games to start the new season. Both wins the Panthers earned have been decided by one goal with the most recent being a 2-1 win on Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Senators and Panthers played each other three times last season. While the Senators did win two of the three meetings, the one loss was an awful one in the only road game in Florida. The Senators were blown out 5-1 in the Sunrise meeting back on Feb. 8, 2025.
There will be no battle of the Tkachuk brothers tonight with Matthew out for months to start the season. The Panthers also don't have forward Aleksander Barkov due to a knee injury.