Zetterlund scores twice, Senators ease past Panthers 

OTTAWA -- Fabian Zetterlund scored twice for the Ottawa Senators in a 5-1 win against the Florida Panthers at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday.

Drake Batherson, Artem Zub and Claude Giroux scored for the Senators (42-27-10), who have won three straight and four of their past five. Jake Sanderson had two assists, and Linus Ullmark made 21 saves.

“It’s great, I mean, getting rewarded, it’s always nice, but yeah, two points for the team, it’s great, it’s a great feeling,” Zetterlund said.

Ottawa is three points ahead of the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

“We’re playing teams that may be out of the playoffs,” Sanderson said. “But a lot of guys are playing for their own success, playing hard. So you can’t look past those games.”

Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot returned to the lineup after breaking his right arm in a 2-1 win at the New York Rangers on March 23. Chabot had surgery March 26 and missed eight games after he was initially expected to be out 4-8 weeks.

“Nice to be back out there just playing hockey,” said Chabot, who had one shot on goal in 21:16 of ice time. “It was fun. Like we said this morning, it (stinks) to be out and you don’t feel like you’re part of it. So being back out there and playing it was great, it was a good feeling.” 

Jesper Boqvist scored the lone goal for the Panthers (37-38-4), who have lost four in a row (0-3-1). Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves.

“We won't quit, but today we, I feel like we weren't fast enough,” Boqvist said. “And they won more battles and second pucks than us, and then it's hard to play the way we want.”

Injuries to Florida defensemen Seth Jones (broken foot) and Dmitry Kulikov (broken finger) paved the way for Ludvig Jansson and Marek Alscher to each make his NHL debut against Ottawa.

“It’s sweet and sour,” Alscher said. “First NHL game that’s big for me, unfortunately, we didn’t get to win, which, that'd be awesome, but like I said, sweet and sour.” 

Panthers coach Paul Maurice said: “I thought both those guys, I was pleasantly surprised. Marek a little more opportunity tonight to play and play against the other team's best, got up the ice a few times, use the size a little bit. Didn't look like he was afraid to make a play or trying not to make a mistake. So for two rookie debuts, I was pretty happy for those guys.” 

Batherson gave the Senators a 1-0 lead while on a power play at 6:49 of the first period. He set up in front of the net and deflected Sanderson's one-timer from between the circles to the short side.

“I think our first was good,” Chabot said. “We didn't like our second. I thought we let off the gas and we didn't battle as hard and played as hard. and we came back in the third and we just took over the game.”

Zetterlund made it 2-0 at 17:00. Lars Eller won a board battle and fed Zetterlund in the right circle, where he roofed a wrist shot over Bobrovsky's glove that bounced quickly off the back bar.

“There's a difference sometimes between the guys at the top end of the National League that can win those battles and handle the puck in crowds,” Maurice said. “We probably struggled moving the puck and doing some things that we shouldn’t, we shouldn’t struggle in that area.” 

Zub increased the lead to 3-0 at 3:03 of the third period, beating Bobrovsky with a snap shot inside the left post from the right circle after Sanderson's initial shot caromed back off the end glass.

“Well, we talked about playing with the lead a lot, not being passive, being aggressive,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said. “I think they have a strong understanding of it, even going back to last year. I thought, obviously, we had a great third period tonight.” 

Boqvist cut the deficit to 3-1 with a snap shot from the slot that trickled through Ullmark's pads at 14:17.

Giroux scored an empty-net goal at 16:43 to make it 4-1, and Zetterlund scored his second goal through the five-hole just 19 seconds later at 17:02 for the 5-1 final.

“Nice to win, but also playing the way we want to play,” Sanderson said. “Obviously want to get points, but going down the stretch, we want to do it the right way.” 

NOTES: The Senators scored five-plus goals (excluding shootout-deciding goals) in three straight games for the first time since Jan. 30 – Feb. 3, 2025 (three games). ... Alscher had two shots on goal in 19:28 of ice time, and Jansson played 13:17.