The Florida Panthers (44-27-4) will play north of the border for the final time of the regular season when they face the Ottawa Senators (40-29-6) this afternoon at Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata.
Depleted Florida played well, but as per usual, couldn’t score enough and lost 3-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, pretty much ending their chances of winning the Atlantic Division. Sam Reinhart set up Gustav Forsling’s power-play marker early in the second period and bagged a PPG of his own late in the third to make it a one-goal game. Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves and took the loss in his 750th NHL appearance.
The Senators solidified its hold on the first wild card and crept within striking distance of the third-place Panthers with a 2-1 home ice win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. Linus Ullmark made 31 saves and Jake Sanderson and Shane Pinto scored the goals as Ottawa moved closer to clinching its first playoff berth since 2017.
- WHEN: 2 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Canadian Tire Centre – Kanata, ON
- ON THE TUBE: Scripps
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #GoSensGo, #FLAvsOTT, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Silver Seven Sens
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 3 of 3 (1-1)
- LAST MEETING: @FLA 5, OTT 1 (Recap) – 2/8/2025
- NEXT MEETING: Playoffs or 2025-26 season
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Bobrovsky (31-17-2 .906 / 2.54 5SO) Ottawa: Forsberg (9-11-2 .901 / 2.68 2SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Ottawa
Saturday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)
- Carolina (46-25-4 96P) at BOSTON (30-37-9 69P) 7 p.m.
- TAMPA BAY (44-26-5 93P) at BUFFALO (32-36-6 70P) 7 p.m.
- Columbus (34-31-9 77P) at TORONTO (46-25-4 96P) 7 p.m.
- Philadelphia (31-36-9 71P) at MONTREAL (36-30-9 81P) 7 p.m.
Idle: DET (77P)