OTTAWA – The Florida Panthers will try to play the role of spoiler when they face the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.
With four games left to play, the Senators (41-27-10) currently sit in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a two-point cushion.
While the Panthers (37-37-4) won’t get to defend their Stanley Cup, they can still have an impact on this year’s playoffs.
“They’ll be hungry,” defenseman Gustav Forsling said. “They’re fighting for a playoff spot, so I’m sure it’s going to be a fast game out there. We’ve got to be ready from the start.”
On the first stop of their trek through Canada, the Panthers suffered a 4-3 shootout loss at Montreal on Tuesday.
Carter Verhaeghe, Cole Rienhardt and Eetu Luostarinen scored in the loss, while Daniil Tarasov made 29 saves.
With roughly 500 man games already lost to injury this season, the Panthers suffered two more major blows against the Canadiens as Dmitry Kulikov (broken finger) and Seth Jones (foot fracture) both suffered injuries.
With two more spots on the blue line to fill, the Panthers recalled Marek Alscher and Ludvig Jansson from the AHL.
Both will make their NHL debut tonight.
“They all played together in Charlotte,” head coach Paul Maurice said of the team's young defense. “They’re not going in with five other veteran guys where they don’t want to make a mistake and don’t want to let these guys down. They’ll be sitting on the bench with their teammates from Charlotte, and there’s a familiarity there.”
A third-round pick (93rd overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft, Alscher has produced 11 points (3G, 8A) in 51 games during his second season with the Charlotte Checkers, while Jansson, a fourth-round pick (125th overall) in 2022, has logged 10 points (3G, 7A) in 29 games during his first season in the AHL.
“This has been a childhood dream,” Jansson said. “I think I’ve been every one of these guys on video games. It’s just a surreal feeling being here. I’m super excited.”
Climbing back into a playoff spot, the Senators have won three of their last four games, including a 6-2 beatdown of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.
Brady Tkachuk dished out four assists in the win, while Jake Sanderson potted a pair of goals.
With the game tied 1-1 after 40 minutes, the Senators scored five times in the third period to secure the two points.
Tim Stutzle leads Ottawa in goals (34), assists (48) and points (82). Behind him, Drake Batherson (68 points), Tkachuk (58 points), Dylan Cozens (56 points) and Sanderson (51 points) have also surpassed the 50-point mark this season.
Just 17 days after suffering a broken arm, Thomas Chabot will return to action for the Senators. In 55 games this season, the veteran defenseman has recorded 31 points (7G, 24A).
Set to appear in his 48th game this season, Linus Ullmark will get the nod in net for the Senators. Backstopping Ottawa to wins in each of his last two starts, Ullmark has gone 26-12-8 this season with a 2.82 goals-against average, a .887 save percentage and two shutouts.
For the Panthers, Sergei Bobrovsky will man the crease.
Their fourth and final meeting this season, the Panthers have gone 3-0-0 against the Senators while leading 15-7 in goals.
Verhaeghe paces the Panthers in goals (3) and points (6) in the season series, while Jones has dished out a team-high five assists.
Overall, the Panthers are 9-2-0 in their last 11 battles with the Senators.
“It’s going to be fun,” Forsling said. “It’s going to be loud out there.”
THEY SAID IT
“I want to play every game. You’ve got to be smart and take care of your body off the ice and do all the small boring things.” – Gustav Forsling
“We’ve got a young backend there. We’ve got old man Forsling and the kids. We’ll get a chance to take a look at those guys tonight.” – Paul Maurice
“It’s hard to put words on how much it means to me. There’s a lot of guys in here that I model my game after.” – Ludvig Jansson
FIVE CATS STATS
- Gustav Forsling has tallied four points (1G, 3A) in three games against the Senators this season.
- Carter Verhaeghe has scored at least 25 goals in three of the last four seasons.
- Eetu Luostarinen is three assists away from his 100th NHL assist.
- The Panthers are 16-7-0 when Sam Bennett scores a goal this season.
- After tonight’s game, six players will have made their NHL debut with Florida this season.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Mackie Samoskevich
Jesper Boqvist – Eetu Luostarinen – A.J. Greer
Tomas Nosek – Cole Schwindt – Noah Gregor
Nolan Foote – Luke Kunin – Vinnie Hinostroza
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Mike Benning
Tobias Bjornfot – Ludvig Jansson
Donovan Sebrango – Marek Alscher
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- April 9: D Marek Alscher and D Ludvig Jansson recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- April 5: D Mikulas Hovorka loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- April 1: D Tobias Bjornfot and D Mikulas Hovorka recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Thursday, April 9 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Canadian Tire Centre – Ottawa, ON
TV & Streaming: WSFL, WHDT, WFTX, PanthersPlus.TV
Radio: 560 WQAM-AM (Dade/Broward); 100.3 WCTH-FM (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR-FM (Treasure Coast); Panthers GameDay App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
Cats on Tap: Click here
