The Ottawa Senators continued their late-season surge Thursday night, taking a major step toward securing an Eastern Conference playoff berth with a convincing 5–1 victory over the Florida Panthers.
Fabian Zetterlund led the charge with two goals, while Drake Batherson, Artem Zub and Claude Giroux also found the net for Ottawa, which extended its winning streak to three games and strengthened its hold on the second and final wild-card position in the East.
With three games remaining in the regular season, the Senators (42-27-10) now sit three points ahead of the New York Islanders and just two points behind the Boston Bruins for the top wild-card spot. Ottawa will face the Islanders on Saturday in what shapes up as a pivotal matchup in the playoff race.
The win capped a strong five-game homestand for Ottawa, which posted a 4-1-0 record during the stretch. The Senators have been especially sharp during their current three-game winning streak, outscoring opponents 17–6.
Ottawa also received a boost on the blue line with the return of Thomas Chabot, who came back exactly two weeks after undergoing surgery for a broken arm. Originally expected to miss four to eight weeks, Chabot’s early return provided an emotional lift and additional stability to the defense corps.
After building momentum through the first two periods, Ottawa seized full control early in the third.
Just 3:03 into the final frame, Artem Zub buried a rebound off a Jake Sanderson shot, firing it past Sergei Bobrovsky to give the Senators a commanding 3–0 advantage. That goal effectively tilted the game out of reach.
Florida finally solved Ottawa goaltender Linus Ullmark at 14:17 of the third period when A.J. Greer set up Jesper Boqvist in the slot. Boqvist slipped a shot under Ullmark’s right arm to spoil the shutout bid and make it 3–1.
Any hopes of a comeback quickly disappeared. Claude Giroux sealed the outcome with an empty-net goal with 3:17 remaining, and just 19 seconds later Zetterlund added his second tally of the night to complete the scoring and punctuate Ottawa’s dominant performance. Ullmark finished with 21 saves, while Bobrovsky stopped 25 shots for Florida.
The defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers, already eliminated from playoff contention, continued evaluating young talent by recalling defensemen Marek Alscher and Ludvig Jansson from their American Hockey League affiliate. Both players made their NHL debuts in the loss.
Despite the setback, Florida gained valuable experience for its developing roster as it transitions toward the offseason.
Ottawa now turns its attention to a critical road matchup against the Islanders on Saturday, a game that could go a long way toward locking up its postseason spot. Meanwhile, the Panthers travel to Toronto as they close out their regular-season schedule.
