It was Star Wars night in South Florida. The Florida Panthers were also looking to get revenge on the Ottawa Senators, which happened, as they blanked them 3-0. Panthers net-minder Sergei Bobrovsky had a perfect game, saving all 18 shots he faced. With Florida’s win and Tampa Bay’s loss, the Panthers jump back into first place in the Atlantic Division.
First Period:
The Florida Panthers started off dominating quickly and often Thursday night.
The Panthers would outshoot the Senators a whopping 25-7 in the first period. After a two-minute 4-on-4 penalty after Ryan Lomberg and Brady Tkachuk were both called for roughing, Anton Lundell would draw a double minor after Erik Brannstrom high sticked him.
The Panthers would take advantage and score on the power play at 10:04 when Mason Marchment would deflect a puck past Anton Forsberg. It was his 12th of the season, and he would add an assist to his goal. The Senators would challenge it for goaltender interference, and would be unsuccessful, ultimately putting the Panthers on a 5-on-3 after the goal.
Second Period:
The Panthers’ domination on Thursday night continued through the second period, as they opened up shooting more. They would outshoot the Senators 10-1 in the first 13 minutes of the period. Despite the massive shot difference, Ottawa’s Anton Forsberg would save 37 of his first 38 shots, and the Panthers led only 1-0 despite that massive shot disparity.
Third Period:
The Panthers would score two goals 12 seconds apart to blow the game open in the third frame. Patric Hörnqvist batted home a rebound for Florida’s second power-play goal of the night and a 2-0 lead early in the third. Hörnqvist would also have an assist to go along with his goal. Ryan Lomberg got Florida’s third goal after a shot squirted through Forsberg’s pads. From there, the only drama left was to see if Sergei Bobrovsky would get the shutout; Bobrovsky did get the shutout, but in the midst of a ton of fights in the final minutes.
Next Up:
The Panthers host the Red Wings on Saturday.
(Featured image by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)