Florida Panthers at Ottawa Senators
· National Hockey LeagueForsling, Verhaeghe each have goal and assist as Panthers beat Senators 3-2
Evan Rodrigues also scored for the Panthers, and Sergei Bobrovsky had 18 saves. Florida snapped a two-game skid and got its second win in six games (2-3-1).
Fabian Zetterlund and Claude Giroux scored for Ottawa, which has lost four straight. Leevi Merilainen finished with 18 saves while allowing three goals for the fourth straight game.
The Panthers took a 3-1 lead at 3:43 of the third when Forsling stepped into the faceoff circle and wired a shot high glove side.
Giroux pulled the Senators back within one as he scored from a sharp angle with 1:42 remaining. Ottawa couldn't beat Bobrovsky again.
Ottawa opened the scoring 4:03 into the game when Zetterlund took the puck behind the net, curled and put a shot on Bobrovsky from a sharp angle. The puck bounced off his blocker and rolled down his back across the goal line.
The Panthers answered with a power-play goal with 8:26 remaining in the first. Rodrigues took advantage of a poor defensive play by Tim Stutzle and beat Merilainen far side.
Both teams had a number of chances in the second period, but the Panthers eventually got the go-ahead goal.
Florida's power play capitalized with Verhaeghe using Nick Jensen, who had fallen, as a screen to beat Merilainen glove side with 6:47 remaining.
Verhaeghe then earned the ire of fans late in the second for pushing Artem Zub from behind into the boards. The initial call on the play was a five-minute major but upon review reduced to a minor for boarding.
Sandis Vilmanis made his NHL debut for the Panthers.
Senators: Host Vancouver on Tuesday night.
Regular Season SeriesFLA leads series 2-0
Scoring Summary
![]() |
Goal | 1st Period 4:03 | Fabian Zetterlund Goal (11) Wrist Shot, assists: Shane Pinto (10), Claude Giroux (22) |
![]() |
Goal | 1st Period 11:34 | Evan Rodrigues Goal (9) Wrist Shot, assists: Aaron Ekblad (14) |
![]() |
Goal | 2nd Period 13:13 | Carter Verhaeghe Goal (13) Wrist Shot, assists: Gustav Forsling (14), Anton Lundell (19) |
![]() |
Goal | 3rd Period 3:48 | Gustav Forsling Goal (2) Slap Shot, assists: Aaron Ekblad (15), Carter Verhaeghe (18) |
![]() |
Goal | 3rd Period 18:18 | Drake Batherson Goal (17) Tip-In, assists: Claude Giroux (23), Jake Sanderson (25) |
Statistics
FLA |
OTT |
|
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Blocked Shots | 14 |
| 24 | Hits | 20 |
| 6 | Takeaways | 5 |
| 21 | Shots | 19 |
| 2 | Power Play Goals | 0 |
| 4 | Power Play Opportunities | 5 |
| 50.0 | Power Play Percentage | 0.0 |
| 0 | Short Handed Goals | 0 |
| 0 | Shootout Goals | 0 |
| 28 | Faceoffs Won | 33 |
| 45.9 | Faceoff Win Percent | 54.1 |
| 12 | Giveaways | 13 |
| 6 | Total Penalties | 5 |
| 12 | Penalty Minutes | 10 |
Ottawa Senators Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Linus Ullmark, G | Injured Reserve | Jan 8 |
Florida Panthers Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Brad Marchand, LW | Out | Jan 12 |
| Seth Jones, D | Injured Reserve | Jan 10 |
| Jonah Gadjovich, LW | Injured Reserve | Jan 5 |
| Cole Schwindt, C | Injured Reserve | Jan 5 |
| Matthew Tkachuk, LW | Injured Reserve | Jan 5 |
Game Information
Canadian Tire Centre
Location: Ottawa, ON
Attendance: 17,085 | Capacity:
Location: Ottawa, ON
Attendance: 17,085 | Capacity:
2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PTS | OTL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Detroit |
28 | 15 | 60 | 4 |
Tampa Bay |
28 | 13 | 59 | 3 |
Montreal |
26 | 14 | 58 | 6 |
Toronto |
23 | 15 | 53 | 7 |
Buffalo |
24 | 16 | 52 | 4 |
Boston |
25 | 19 | 52 | 2 |
Florida |
24 | 18 | 51 | 3 |
Ottawa |
20 | 19 | 45 | 5 |




FLA
OTT
Detroit
Tampa Bay
Montreal
Toronto
Buffalo
Boston
Florida
Ottawa