Panthers score 5 goals in 1st period, hold off Senators

SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Florida Panthers scored five times in the first period, including the fastest goal to start a game in their history, and defeated the Ottawa Senators 6-3 at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday.

Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and three assists, Carter Verhaeghe had two goals and an assist, and Seth Jones had three assists for the Panthers (36-35-3), who had lost three in a row. Sam Bennett had two assists, and Daniil Tarasov made 23 saves. 

“It was great to get out to that (5-0) lead,” Jones said. “Overall, it was good start to finish.”

The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions would have been eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention with a regulation loss.

“Ottawa is fighting for their lives and I think we were more afraid of them than they would be of us. And rightfully so,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “Some good things happened. We got on the power play. It has had chances … but nothing is going for it. Then a couple go and now, you have the juice, the energy, the home crowd. We haven’t had a lot of fun nights in the last month, so it just lights the bench up. You’re playing for that good feeling.”

Michael Amadio had a goal and an assist, and Drake Batherson and Jordan Spence scored for the Senators (38-26-10), who have lost three straight. Linus Ullmark allowed five goals on 16 shots before being replaced by James Reimer, who made 12 saves in relief. 

Ottawa remained two points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference with eight games remaining. The Senators have played one fewer game than the Blue Jackets. 

“Disappointing. We talked about the importance of a good start in this building and that was the opposite,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said. “We just looked flat, didn’t have a lot of energy. … We just weren’t good enough tonight. Flat out, we had a lot of players who weren’t good enough.”

Noah Gregor gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead eight seconds into the first. After Florida won the opening face-off, Jones sent the puck into the offensive zone and off the end boards. It caromed to the front of the net, and Ullmark deferred playing it before it rolled off Spence’s stick and went right to Gregor for the finish.

Mackie Samoskevich made it 2-0 at 1:06 with a power-play goal from the right side, redirecting Jones’ backdoor pass.

The Panthers extended the lead to 3-0 with another power-play goal at 9:09. Verhaeghe gathered a loose puck to the right of the net and banked in a sharp-angled shot off Ullmark.

“We had a great first and just stuck with it,” Verhaeghe said. “We were moving, were good on the forecheck, and were skating with the puck.”

Florida then pushed the lead to 5-0 by scoring twice within 34 seconds. A.J. Greer one-timed a pass from Eetu Luostarinen at 14:02, and Verhaeghe scored off a Bennett feed on a 2-on-1 at 14:36, chasing Ullmark.

Batherson’s 30th goal of the season made it 5-1 at 1:40 of the second period. He scored with a wrist shot from the left face-off circle.

“We generated a bit in the second to just try and get back in the game,” Batherson said. “We’re in the middle of the hunt right now for a spot. We have to get ready for the next game. … It isn’t like losing tonight means the season is over. It probably makes our job a little harder. But I trust this group.”

Tkachuk got his fourth point of the night and gave Florida a 6-1 lead at 12:41 when he charged the net and scored off a pass from Bennett following an Ottawa turnover in its own zone.

Spence then cut it to 6-2 at 15:14 with a point shot through traffic, and Amadio made it 6-3 at 4:29 of the third period by one-timing a Ridly Greig backhand feed in the high slot.

“We didn’t come out hot at all in the first period,” Spence said. “When you’re down 5-0, you have nothing to lose, just try the best you can to crawl back. But we didn’t do that. Focus on the next game.”

The Senators had a great power-play chance after Gregor was assessed a five-minute major and match penalty at 11:26 for an illegal check to the head of Carter Yakemchuk, followed by Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling being called for tripping at 15:22 to make it 5-on-3 for 1:04.

Ottawa then pulled Reimer for a 6-on-3 advantage but failed to score.

“It would have been nice to get a few on that power play with lots of time left,” Batherson said. “But we didn’t. We have to move on. We can’t dwell on it.”

Yakemchuk left the game after the hit from Gregor and was helped to the dressing room. Green did not have an update on the defenseman.

Florida defensemen Dmitry Kulikov and Aaron Ekblad also left the game in the third. Kulikov exited at 6:38 after being hit in the face by a deflected puck, and Ekblad blocked a shot with his hand on the penalty kill, leaving at 14:06.

Maurice joked that he had “a line at the X-ray machine” after the game. 

The coach said Kulikov will undergo further testing. Of Ekblad, Maurice said, “I don’t think it looks great.”

NOTES: Gregor topped Johan Garpenlov (in a 2-1 win at the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 17, 1996) and Barkov (in a 4-1 win at the Montreal Canadiens on April 5, 2016) for the fastest goal to start a game in Panthers history (10 seconds). Samoskevich’s goal then gave Florida the fastest two goals to start a game in franchise history; Kulikov and current Ottawa forward Nick Cousins scored in the opening 1:37 of a 6-0 win against the Senators on April 4, 2024. … With three assists in the first, Jones tied Radko Gudas and Bryan McCabe for the most in a period by a defenseman in Panthers history. … It was Tkachuk’s 10th game with at least four points for Florida, the second most in team history behind Jonathan Huberdeau (15), who was traded to the Calgary Flames for Tkachuk in 2022. … Ekblad tied Aleksander Barkov for the most games played in Panthers history with 804.