The Florida Panthers found their footing Saturday night, edging the Ottawa Senators 3-2 to snap a brief skid and regain some momentum.
Gustav Forsling and Carter Verhaeghe each finished with a goal and an assist as Florida earned just its second win in six games. Evan Rodrigues also scored for the Panthers, while Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 18 shots to secure the victory.
Florida broke a 1-1 tie early in the third period when Forsling stepped into the faceoff circle and ripped a shot high glove side at the 3:43 mark, giving the Panthers a 3-1 cushion. Ottawa made things interesting late, as Claude Giroux scored from a sharp angle with 1:42 remaining, but the Senators couldn’t solve Bobrovsky again in the final moments.
Ottawa struck first just 4:03 into the game. Fabian Zetterlund worked the puck behind the net, curled out front and fired a sharp-angle shot that deflected off Bobrovsky’s blocker and trickled across the goal line. Florida answered on the power play with 8:26 left in the opening period when Rodrigues capitalized on a defensive miscue by Tim Stützle, beating Leevi Merilainen far side to tie the game.
The second period featured chances at both ends, but Florida’s power play delivered again. With 6:47 remaining, Verhaeghe used a fallen Nick Jensen as a screen and snapped a glove-side shot past Merilainen to give the Panthers their first lead. Verhaeghe later drew the ire of the Ottawa crowd after shoving Artem Zub from behind into the boards late in the period. The play was initially assessed as a five-minute major but was reduced to a minor penalty for boarding after review.
Merilainen finished with 18 saves for Ottawa but allowed three goals for the fourth straight game. The loss extended the Senators’ skid to four games.
The night also marked a milestone for Florida, as Sandis Vilmanis made his NHL debut.
The Panthers head to Buffalo for a Monday night matchup, while the Senators return home to host Vancouver on Tuesday night.
