Stutzle goalless, 2nd period meltdown, and more: 3 reasons why Ottawa Senators lost 5-1 to Florida Panthers

The Ottawa Senators were on the receiving end of a 5-1 shellacking at the hands of their division rival, the Florida Panthers, at the Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday night. With the loss, the Senators failed to gain ground on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division.

Captain Brady Tkachuk notched a power play for the Ottawa Senators. Meanwhile, Matthew Tkachuk (PPG), Aleksander Barkov, Gustav Forsling, Sam Bennett, and Anton Lundell (SHG, EN) scored for the Florida Panthers.

So, let’s take a look at the 3 key reasons why the Ottawa Senators lost to the Florida Panthers on Saturday night.

3 reasons why Ottawa Senators lost to Florida Panthers

#3 Panthers outplayed Senators

The Florida Panthers outplayed the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night. First, the Cats outshot the Sens 48-27, while winning 54.5% of the draws. The Panthers also played a much more physical game, outhitting the Senators 30-21 while capturing 11 giveaways and forcing three takeaways.

Beyond the numbers, the Panthers dominated the game for long stretches, particularly the dreadful second period in which the Cats took complete control over the game. It’s worth pointing out that the score could have been even more lopsided if not for Linus Ullmark’s 43 saves.

#2 Second-period meltdown

The Ottawa Senators surrendered four goals in the second period, giving up a 1-0 lead and heading into the second intermission down 4-1.

The debacle started with Matthew Tkachuk’s 22nd of the season, which came on the power play. Barkov scored about five minutes later. However, the wheels came off when the Cats scored less than two minutes apart late in the middle frame to open up a three-goal lead.

Here’s a look at the Panthers’ third goal of the night:

The tally came on an odd-man rush in which Gustav Forsling let a wicked wrister fly from the top of the slot and past Ullmark for a nifty goal.

Here’s the Panthers’ fourth goal, which came less than two minutes after:

This time, a bad play in the neutral zone led to another odd-man rush which culminated in a one-timer from Sam Bennett. Even though Ullmark did a great job in getting across the net, he was late and unable to stop the puck.

The goal put the Panthers up 4-1 and essentially put the game out of reach at that point.

#1 Stutzle goalless

Tim Stutzle managed just one assist on Saturday night in nearly 20 minutes of ice time. Stutzle has been a difference-maker on the ice for the Senators this season. However, he was unable to find the back of the net for Ottawa nor was he able to generate much offense beyond one shot on goal.

The Senators lacked Stutzle’s strong offensive performance against a dominant Panthers team. The Sens will be back on the ice on Feb. 22 as they take on the Montreal Canadiens at home.