RECAP: Panthers 5, Senators 1

SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers are heading into the break with their heads held very high following a 5-1 beatdown of the Ottawa Senators at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.

Winning eight of their last 11 games, the defending Staley Cup champions enter the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off leading the Atlantic Division with a record of 34-20-3.

“I think we’ve been feeling good about our game,” said forward Matthew Tkachuk, who will serve as an alternate captain for Team USA at the 4 Nations. “Even the games that we haven’t won, we’ve felt good about it for the last month or so. It’s been a tough schedule like everybody knows, but everybody’s had that. That’s no excuse. We’re definitely happy with the way we’re going into the break. I think it’s coming at a great time for us.”

Coming up with a big save early in the first period, Sergei Bobrovsky kept the Senators off board when he denied Brady Tkachuk, who had just exited the penalty box, on a breakaway.

Making the most out of his next opportunity, Tkachuk took advantage of a failed clear by the Panthers and broke the ice for the Senators on the power play to make it 1-0 at 6:38.

Standing tall of Ottawa, Linus Ullmark saved 1.33 goals above expected in the first period.

“In the first period I thought we were good, but so were they,” head coach Paul Maurice.

In the second period, the Panthers finally broke through.

On the power play, Tkachuk joined his younger brother in the goal-scoring department, beating Ullmark with a snipe from the right circle to make it 1-1 at 6:18.

With an assist on the goal, Sam Reinhart recorded the 600^th point of his NHL career.

“I’m in year one of the longest deal I’ve been on,” said Reinhart, who inked an eight-year contract extension with the Panthers last summer. “I’ve still got plenty of hockey left.”

With the Senators getting into trouble again, the Panthers took the lead when Aleksander Barkov tipped in a soft shot from Tkachuk on a delayed penalty to make it 2-1 at 11:36.

Not done there, the Panthers padded their lead when Gustav Forsling flew into the zone, took a pass from Nate Schmidt and beat Ullmark with a wicked snap shot to make it 3-1 at 16:26.

Capping off the scoring spree, Sam Bennett buried a cannon of a one-timer to make it 4-1 at 17:58.

Helping the Panthers keep their three-goal cushion intact heading into the second intermission, Bobrovsky produced another highlight-reel stop when he threw his stick in order to fly across the crease and rob Tkachuk on a point-blank shot with his blocker.

Cue the “Bob-by!” chants.

“He was incredible tonight,” Bennett said of Bobrovsky, who finished with 26 saves. “He made a couple unbelievable saves to keep us in the game and to keep the game tight. That’s vintage Bobby right there.”

An encouraging trend in recent weeks, the Panthers simply shut it down in the third period.

Over the final 20 minutes, they surrendered just 11 shot attempts at 5-on-5.

In a last-ditch effort to close the gap on the power play, the Senators, who pulled Ullmark for a 6-on-4 advantage, were stomped out when Anton Lundell cashed in on the empty net to make it 5-1 at 18:38.

Matching a franchise record, Lundell’s goal was the team’s 12^th shorthanded strike of the season.

“I liked our jump from the start,” Reinhart said. “You lose the special teams battle in the first, so I thought we upped our intensity and started carrying the play in the second. I loved the way we played with the lead in the third.”

Heading into a well-deserved break on a high note, there's certainly a lot for the Panthers to love right now.

THEY SAID IT

“The style of play is infectious. Right from the top of the lineup through everybody, we’re all playing the same way and all executing the same game plan.” – Sam Reinhart

“That’s a good team that’s fighting for the playoffs. They played hard tonight. They came out hard in the first, and then we picked up our game and matched the intensity.” – Sam Bennett

“We were just skating hard and being supportive of each other.” – Matthew Tkachuk

CATS STATS

- Matthew Tkachuk’s six-game goal streak is the third longest in franchise history.

- Aleksander Barkov registered the 203^rd multi-point game of his career.

- Every single Panthers skater recorded at least one shot on goal.

- Tomas Nosek and Niko Mikkola each blocked two shots on goal.

- Evan Rodrigues went 5-for-6 (83.3%) in the faceoff circle.

- The Panthers led 64-33 in shot attempts at 5-on-5.

- Sergei Bobrovsky made 10 high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

WHAT’S NEXT?

It’s time to rest!

Outside of the league-leading eight players from the Panthers that will be competing at the 4 Nations Face-Off, the rest of the squad now spend some time away from the rink for a bit.

In their first game back, the Panthers will host the Seattle Kraken on Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. ET.

For tickets, click HERE.