3 Takeaways From the Florida Panthers vs. Ottawa Senators Game | 10/11/25

Despite being down two of their best players, plus their fourth-line center, and now Kulikov, the Florida Panthers still look every bit as great and dangerous as they did in the postseason. Normally a slugfest of penalties and fights, it was actually a rather quiet game, although Ottawa did give Florida five power plays. The match was also a blowout win for the Cats to get their season off to a 3-0 start at home before they head on the road next week. The strength of the Panthers’ depth was on full display as six different players found the back of the net. Florida’s power play continued its hot start, and strong defense in the third kept the game far out of reach for the Senators. 

Hot Start:

The Cats have looked every bit as dangerous as they did last season, and that’s now with four different starters on IR. Uvis Balinskis started his first game after Kulikov was put on IR due to an injury he got during the Flyers game on Thursday. Balinskis played most of last season with the Cats on their third pair and slotted in with Petry against Ottawa. It was once again Brad Marchand on a breakaway to break the ice in the first period off a feed from Jones. It can’t be overstated how impactful those two pickups at the trade deadline last season have been. Rodrigues made it 2-0 off an odd play. His shot was initially gloved by Ullmark, but he didn’t have full control over the puck. As Ullmark’s glove headed toward the ice, the puck got free and crossed the goal line. The whistle had blown prior to the puck going in, so the officials decided to review it. After review, they determined that the puck was in continuous motion and it was a good goal. Evan’s had a fantastic start to the season, as he has at least a point in every game so far. The Sens got one back late in the period after Bob misplayed the puck, and Pinto scored on a rebound that went right back to him. Florida took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. 

Powerplay Prowess: 

The Panthers’ power play has been hot to start the season and continued that trend against Ottawa. Jones had a near goal early in the second period that Ullmark saved with his stick. But it was Ekblad who found the back of the net first on the man advantage. With two screens in front of Linus, Marchand found Ekblad, who took the shot to restore the two-goal lead less than a minute into the second period. A shot from Petry got tipped in by Lundell on the second power play of the period to make it a 4-1 lead. A high-sticking double minor on Chabat gave the Cats plenty of time to score one more power play goal. After having some great chances in the first two games, Mackie Samoskevich put home his first goal of the season off a feed from Lundell. Mackie’s shot hit the far post and went in, making it 5-1 early in the third period. 

Strong Defense:

On the flip side, Florida’s penalty kill has been perfect through three games. You’d think with them down their best defensive forward, it’d be expected to take a dip, but it hasn’t. Florida’s done a great job limiting shots from their opponents. Ottawa did have some pushback and solid chances in the final period, but the Panthers’ defense did its job to shut down Brady Tkachuk. The defense has stepped up offensively as well, with the defense combining for six points on the night; assists from Petry, Jones (x2), Forsling, and Ekblad (1G, 1A). Forsling’s assist came in the final period on the Sam Reinhart goal for the 6-2 final score. Jones had the primary assist on the Marchand goal and a secondary assist on the Ekblad goal. The only goal that didn’t have a hand from the defensemen was the Samoskevich goal. HC Paul Maurice said he was happy with the team’s gap defensively. Bobrovsky has started all three games of the season and has been as expected. Although I’m sure he’d like the first Senators’ goal back, he still made 26 saves on 28 shots with a .929 SV%. He gave lots of credit to the guys in front of him for how good the penalty kill has been, but Bobrovsky still made some key saves. Florida couldn’t have asked for a better start to their season with the injury adversity it’s facing at the moment.