5 TAKEAWAYS: Senators 5, Panthers 2

OTTAWA --The Florida Panthers found themselves on the wrong side of the special teams battle during a 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Monday.
Falling to 36-31-7 in the standings, the Panthers remain three points out of a playoff spot.
"This is obviously not the result we dreamt about coming to the rink today," Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "There are some things that we can build on from this game."
For a quick recap of the game, click
HERE
.
To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. TOUGH NIGHT ON THE KILL

The Panthers first and foremost pointed to special teams following their loss.
Most notably, the fact they surrendered three goals on the penalty kill.
"They have skilled guys on that power play," Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen said. "We took a couple of stupid penalties, including myself. We just have to stay out of the box."
Once the Panthers got rolling, it seemed that every time they'd come close to closing the gap and pulling even, Ottawa's power play would answer with a timely goal on the man advantage.
After Gustav Forsling scored to cut Florida's deficit to 2-1 in the second period, Alex DeBrincat buried a one-timer on the power play to make it 3-1. Armed with the extra attacker again late in the third period after Forsling made it 3-2, Tim Stützle then scored to make it 4-2 with 2:23 left in regulation.
Prior to this loss, the Panthers had gone 11-for-12 on the PK in their previous five games.
"Quite frankly, I felt at 5-on-5 we absolutely dominated them for most of the game," Tkachuk said. "But yeah, special teams definitely played a big factor tonight, not in our favor."

2. STRONG AT EVEN STRENGTH

Tkachuk is correct in his assessment that the Panthers were strong at even strength.
Taking a look at the numbers at NaturalStatTrick.com, they finished with lopsided advantages over the Senators in shot attempts (50-25), shots on goal (28-14), scoring chances (20-10), high-danger shot attempts (11-2) and, most importantly, goals scored (2-1) at 5-on-5.
Those key metrics also matched the eye test as the Panthers looked dangerous on multiple occasions when they were able to establish time in the offensive zone. That being said, they weren't rewarded as much as they should've been due to a mix of bad luck and missed shots.
Mads Sogaard also made more than a few clutch saves for Ottawa. Going a perfect 9-for-9 against high-danger stops, he seemed to gobble up every puck that he could see. With that, the Panthers really only found success against him with shots they threaded through heavy traffic.
In two of their last four losses, the Panthers have led in expected goals at 5-on-5.
"I was proud of the way they played tonight," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "They played their [butts] off. More importantly, they seemed to find another level as a team in terms of being engaged as a team. I thought they played their [butts] off tonight."

3. NOT ENOUGH POWER

After the game, Maurice was quick to note that both teams had their opportunities.
"It wasn't a penalty game," he said. "They took penalties, we took penalties."
Earning four power plays of their own, the Panthers unfortunately came up empty-handed against the Senators. Over the course of those eight minutes with the man advantage, they registered 14 shot attempts and 10 scoring chances, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
Of those 10 scoring chances, four were credited to sniper Carter Verhaeghe.
"I thought we were pretty good for most of the night," Tkachuk said. "We just got into some penalty trouble. They capitalized on their power plays, and we didn't on ours. They definitely crushed us in the whole special teams battle tonight."
A tough night during an overall outstanding stretch with the extra attacker, the Panthers own the eighth-ranked power play in the NHL in March with a 25.6% success rate. From March 10-23, they scored a power-play goal in seven consecutive games, going 9-for-26 (34.6%) in that span.

4. A NEW HIGH FOR GUS

Forsling was a man on a mission in Ottawa.
Finding the back of the net twice against the Senators for the third multi-goal game of his career, the 26-year-old officially set new career-high marks in goals (12) and points (38). Showing off his range, both of his goals were blistering one-timers from distance.

"He's been so good all year," Maurice said of Forsling. "Played in every game, and confidence is growing so strongly. He only just keeps getting better. He's got a great shot. We're just starting to see it, and I think you're going to see a lot more of it."
While his production has certainly been impressive, Forsling's durability might be one of his biggest assets. Despite taking a beating while playing heavy minutes on the top pairing, he's one of six players on the Panthers to have suited up in all 74 games so far this campaign.
That toughness was evident against the Senators. After taking a puck up high during the first period, Forsling went on to skate 23:41 while looking no worse for wear. In addition to reaching new heights on offense, he's also posted career-high 98 blocked shots and 62 hits in 2022-23.
Over his last seven games, Forsling has recorded five points (four goals, one assist).

5. GETTING BACK ON THE HORSE

The Panthers know they don't have much more room for error this season.
With eight games left to play, they trail the Pittsburgh Penguins by three points for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. In that race, Pittsburgh also has one game in hand.
Needing a late-season spark, the Panthers will now play back-to-back games against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
The road ahead isn't easy, but players are looking forward to the challenge.
"We're playing one of the best teams in the league in a few days," Tkachuk said. "It definitely doesn't get easier when it comes to opponents, that's for sure. Hopefully we can continue on some of the good things we did tonight, beat Toronto, and then see what happens from there."