OTTAWA SENATORS NOTES:
LAST GAME: April 4, 3-2 OT loss at Carolina: The Senators lost their second consecutive overtime contest as Necas fired home the game-winning goal to send Carolina to a 3-2 victory at PNC Arena. The win was the Hurricanes’ 50th of the season to mark the third time in franchise history the team reached the mark. The home side emerged with a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes following goals from Kotkaniemi and Skjei (whose 18th of the season equaled the club record for goals from a defenceman). Ottawa battled back with Giroux finding the back of the net in the second period to become the third Ottawa skater to reach the 30-goal plateau in their first season with the club and Tkachuk registering his team-leading 15th road goal of the season at 2:52 of the third period to send the game into the extra session. Meriläinen took the loss for Ottawa in making 34 saves while skating in his NHL debut in goal to become the seventh goaltender to start a game for the team this year. Raanta earned the win for Carolina with 26 saves. Scratches: Gambrell, Gauthier; Injuries: Brassard, Chabot, Chychrun, Forsberg, Hamonic, Joseph, Kelly, Norris, Sogaard*; Shots: OTT – 28, CAR – 37; PP: OTT – 1-4, CAR – 1-5.
BROADCAST INFORMATION: This evening’s game against Florida will be broadcast regionally on TSN5 and RDS2. On the radio, the game will be available locally via TSN 1200 (English) and 94,5 Unique-FM (French).
WHAT’S NEXT: Ottawa begins a two-game homestand against Tampa Bay on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. The contest will mark the third of three regular-season meetings and the second of two matchups at Canadian Tire Centre.
INJURY REPORT: G Forsberg and C Norris are on IR and will not oppose the Panthers this evening. F Kelly has missed the last 12 games with a lower-body injury. D Chychrun has missed the last six games with a lower body injury. D Chabot has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury. F Brassard and D Hamonic have missed the last three games with lower-body injuries. Total mangames lost: 298.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS: Recalled F Sokolov from Belleville (AHL) on April 4.
OTTAWA vs. FLORIDA – History:
2022-23 (1-1-0): Oct. 29 @ Florida (5-3 loss), March 27 @ Ottawa (5-2 win), April 6 @ Florida
2021-22 (1-2-1): 12/14/21 @ Florida (8-2 win), 3/3/22 @ Florida (3-0 loss), 3/26/22 @ Ottawa (4-3 SO loss), 4/28/22 @ Ottawa (4-0 loss)
Series record: Overall: 57-43-3-5; Home: 27-21-2-3; Away: 30-22-1-2
Last Ottawa win: @ Ottawa: March 27 (5-2); @ Florida: 12/14/21 (8-2)
Last Florida win: @ Ottawa: 4/28/22 (4-0); @ Florida: Oct. 29 (5-3)
Last OT result: 3/29/18 (3-2 OT win) @ Ottawa
Last shootout: 3/26/22 (4-3 SO loss) @ Ottawa
Most goals, game: Scored: 8, (12/14/21, 8-2 win); Allowed: 7, (2x, Last: 11/19/18, 7-5 loss); Both teams: 12, (11/19/18, 7-5 loss)
Last Game: March 27, 5-2 win @ Ottawa; OTT Goals: Tkachuk, Brassard, DeBrincat, Stützle, Pinto; FLA Goals: Forsling (x2); OTT Scratches: Gauthier, Kleven; OTT Injuries: Chychrun, Forsberg, Greig, Joseph, Kelly, Norris, Talbot; OTT Goalie: Sogaard; FLA Goalie: Bobrovsky; OTT PP: 3-4; FLA PP: 0-4; Shots: 27-34.
Career vs. Florida: Giroux leads all players in career games played (44), in goals (11), in assists (19) and in points (30); Hamonic
leads in penalty minutes (44) against Florida.
ROAD SCHOLARS: The Senators have a record of 15-20-4 on the road this season … Brady Tkachuk leads with 15 goals on the road this season while also ranking first with 20 assists while the Senators serve as visitors … Through 39 road games this season, Tkachuk maintains the club lead with 35 points … The Senators registered an 18-20-3 record over 41 road contests in 2021-22.
ON THE POWER PLAY: The Senators are 70 for 287 (24.4%) on the power-play in 2022-23 … Drake Batherson leads with 14 power play goals while Alex DeBrincat and Tkachuk maintain the club lead with 29 points while the team enjoys a man advantage … Ottawa has recorded multiple power-play goals 18 times in an individual contest in 2022-23 after having done so 11 times in 2021-22.
ON THE PENALTY KILL: Ottawa has overcome 225 of the 276 occasions the team has been shorthanded in 2022-23 to maintain an efficiency of 81.5% through 78 regular-season games … The team has registered nine (Stützle x3, Watson x3, Joseph x2, Motte) shorthanded markers this season after recording nine such goals in 2021-22.
FLORIDA PANTHERS NOTES:
BAPTIST HEALTH INJURY REPORT
- F Patric Hornqvist | Games Missed: 53
- F Sam Bennett | Games Missed: 8
- G Sergei Bobrovsky | Games Missed: 4
Total Man Games Lost Due to Injury: 230
LAST GAME
Panthers 2, Sabres 1 – April 4 – FLA Live Arena
FLA Goals: Ekblad (13-PPG), Tkachuk (39)
BUF Goals: Cozens (29-PPG)
FLA Goalie: Lyon (W) – 39 Saves
BUF Goalie: Levi (L) – 34 Saves
FLA Shots: 36
BUF Shots: 40
Notes: Alex Lyon won his fourth consecutive game…Lyon has surrendered just one even-strength goal over his past three starts…Brandon Montour notched two assists, matching Keith Yandle’s (53 in 2018-19) single-season franchise assists record by a defenseman…Montour extended his assist/point streak to four games (1-5-6)…Matthew Tkachuk scored his fifth game-winning goal of the season, tied for the team lead…Aaron Ekblad scored his seventh power-play goal of the season, extending his point streak to five games (1-4-5)…Aleksander Barkov (0-1-1) notched an assist for the fourth consecutive game (0-6-6)…Sam Reinhart won 11 of his 13 faceoffs (85%)…The Panthers extended their win streak to a season-long four games…FLA PP: 1-4, FLA PK: 4-5 - RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- April 3: F Ryan McAllister agreed to terms on a 3-year, entry-level contract beginning in 2023-24
- March 29: G Mack Guzda recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
PANTHERS vs. SENATORS
ALL-TIME vs. OTT: 48-52-3-5
ALL-TIME HOME vs. OTT: 24-29-1-1
2022-23 vs. OTT: 1-1-0
CATS STATS - The Panthers own the fourth-best power play since March 4, converting on 26.9% of their power plays over that span.
- The Cats have tallied a power-play goal in six of their past seven home games, posting a 30.8% PP success rate since March 10.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Panthers will play three of their remaining four regular season games at FLA Live Arena where they have earned at least one point in seven of their past nine games (6-2-1) since March 4. Florida has averaged 3.71 goals per game on home ice this season, a mark that ranks third among NHL teams and currently stands as the second-best goals-per-game average at home in franchise history. Matthew Tkachuk’s 57 points (20-37-57) at home rank fourth among NHL skaters, his 39 even-strength points at home are tied for the
league lead and his plus-23 home rating sits third. The Cats lead all teams with 39.0 shots on goal per game average at home.
SEASON OF SCORING
The Panthers 272 goals scored this season are the club’s second-most in one season in franchise history, in addition to a goals per game average of 3.49 that also sits second in the franchise rankings. The Cats’ 22.5% power-play success rate this season is the thirdbest mark in club history and their 36.8 shots on goal per game average rank second.
BOOMIN’ BLUELINE
Aaron Ekblad’s goal April 4 vs. BUF represented the 49th goal scored by a Panthers defenseman this season, the second-most among NHL teams this season behind Carolina (53). Additionally, Ekblad became the third Cats blueliner to reach 35 points this season, marking the second consecutive season the Panthers have had three d-men post as many points in a season. The club record of four was achieved in 2021-22. Prior to last season, the Panthers had never had three blueliners record 35 points in the same season.
CATS AND SENATORS
The Panthers will face off against the Senators for the third and final time in 2022-23, with each team taking a win at home in their prior two matchups. Four different Panthers (Carter Verhaeghe, Aleksander Barkov, Brandon Montour and Matthew Tkachuk) have
logged three points against Ottawa this season, while Brady Tkachuk is the lone Senator to post as many points against Florida in 2022-23. The Cats own a 9-3-0 record against the Sens in their past 12 matchups, and a 3-1-0 record in Ottawa’s past four visits to FLA Live Arena including each of their past two contests in Florida.
