The Florida Panthers completed a perfect season-opening homestand by trouncing the Ottawa Senators 6-2 in their first game against a division rival.
Brad Marchand, Aaron Ekblad and Anton Lundell each had a goal and an assist and Evan Rodrigues, Mackie Samoskevich and Sam Reinhart also lit the lamp for the 3-0 Panthers, who scored twice in each period to make what was expected to be a test a bit of a laugher instead.
The goals by Ekblad, Lundell and Samoskevich came with Ottawa shorthanded as the Cats made the Senators pay for their transgressions by going a tidy 3-for-5 on the power play.
Seth Jones and Gustav Forsling had two assists, and Jeff Petry and Carter Verhaeghe each contributed one helper to the cause.
Sergei Bobrovsky recorded his third win of the year, making 26 saves as the Panthers were outshot for the first time this season.
The only Senator to beat Bobrovsky was Shane Pinto, who cut the deficit to 2-1 late in the first period and scored again with 2:25 left to complete the scoring. Pinto also scored twice against Tampa Bay on Thursday.
Ridly Grieg set up Pinto’s first goal, thanks to misplay by Bobrovksy, and former Panther Claude Giroux had the lone assist on his second marker.
Florida’s penalty kill (2-for-2) remained unblemished, snuffing out chances in the first and third periods.
After vastly outshooting Chicago and Philadelphia, but only scoring five times, the Cats were due for some goals and they poured them in last night, making life miserable for Linus Ullmark, who surrendered all six on 27 shots. The injuries continue to mount, but so do the wins as the team continues to flex its enviable depth and stick to the system that has sent them to the three-straight Stanley Cup finals.
The Panthers will open a five-game road trip Monday night in the City of Brotherly Love with a rematch against the Flyers.
The Five Hole
- Aaron Ekblad was named the game’s First Star for collecting his first goal and assist of 2025-26. Ekblad played a game-high 22:55 and was credited with two shots and two hits.
- Evan Rodrigues, Mackie Samoskevich and Sam Reinhart also notched their first goals of the new campaign.
- Brad Marchand’s breakaway goal was the 84th game-opening marker of his career. Marchand is one of five Panthers with three points in the first three games. Anton Lundell, Gustav Forsling, Rodrigues and Samoskevich are the others.
- With Dmitry Kulikov on injured reserve, Uvis Balinskis made his first appearance of the season. Balinksis logged 17:40 TOI and blocked a shot while going plus-one.
- Florida’s power play has played a big part in the 3-0 start, clicking in each of the three games. The team is currently 5-for-12, which works out to 41.7%.
Stat Card
