Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 17 of the 19 shots he faced to help the Florida Panthers pick up a much-needed 3-2 road win over the faltering Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
Evan Rodrigues, Carter Verhaeghe and Gustav Forsling all found the back of the net for the Panthers.
Fabian Zetterlund and Drake Batherson tallied for the Senators, and Leevi Merilainen made 18 saves in Ottawa’s fourth consecutive defeat.
Verhaeghe scored the eventual game-winning goal for the Panthers with 6:47 left in the middle frame as he ripped his shot off the post and into the back of the net for Florida’s second power-play marker.
Zetterlund struck for the Senators thanks to a lucky bounce as his attempted pass ramped off of Forsling’s stick and past Bobrovsky a little more than four minutes into the contest.
Zetterlund’s goal came just one second after the Senators’ opening power play expired.
Rodrigues knotted things for the Panthers as he showed some patience before ripping his shot blocker-side past Merilainen just before Florida’s power play expired with 8:26 left in the first period.
The Senators came as close as possible to retake the lead in the final minute of the first period, but Batherson missed his backhand shot wide of the open cage.
The Panthers’ Sam Reinhart had a pair of golden short-handed opportunities early in the second period, but his first attempt rang the iron and Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot blocked his bid at the open cage.
Batherson had yet another chance to break the deadlock later in the same power play, but found the far post with a wide open net in front of him.
Tempers flared between these Atlantic Division rivals with just over a minute left in the second as Verhaeghe took down Artem Zub with a cross-check from behind.
Florida extended its lead to 3-1 early in the third period as Forsling launched a slap shot past Merilainen for his second goal of the season.
Batherson gave the Senators hope with 1:42 left in the third as he found the top shelf with his shot from the side boards.
–Field Level Media
