Senators Rout Panthers 5-1 in Brady Tkachuk's Return to Ottawa
Two short-handed goals in the third period sealed Ottawa's win, though goalie Linus Ullmark left with a lower-body strain.
Ottawa picked up its seventh win in ten games on Wednesday night by beating the Florida Panthers 5-1 at Canadian Tire Centre, in a game that doubled as Brady Tkachuk's first appearance in Ottawa since leaving the club.
Tkachuk played eight seasons with the Senators, five of them as captain, before a June 21 trade to Florida, according to NHL.com. He gave the visitors the lead on a first-period power play at 10:00, with his brother Matthew assisting, and said afterwards that "it was just nice to be back."
That was Florida's only goal. Tim Stützle tied it on a power play at 14:13 of the first, and from there the Senators controlled the scoring. Claude Giroux made it 2-1 at 9:34 of the second with a wrist shot through a screen, and Shane Pinto stretched the lead to 3-1 at 17:18 with an assist from Jake Sanderson.
Two short-handed goals in the third
The result was settled in the third period with a pair of short-handed goals. Warren Foegele made it 4-1 at 7:58, assisted by Dylan Cozens, and Stephen Halliday added the fifth at 14:57, assisted by Stützle. NHL.com notes that two short-handed goals in a single period is something Ottawa has now done ten times in franchise history, and not since Jan. 30, 2025.
Sanderson, back after missing eight games with a lower-body injury, finished with two assists. Stützle's power-play goal was the 38th of his career, tying Jochen Hecht for third-most by a German-born NHL player.
What it means
Goalie Linus Ullmark stopped 17 of 18 shots before leaving at 3:25 of the third period. Coach Travis Green said Ullmark has a lower-body strain and will be reassessed Thursday; Samuel Ersson made one save in relief. Ullmark leads the NHL in wins (seven) and save percentage (.945), and is second in goals-against average (1.33), so his status is the thing to watch for a 7-3-0 Ottawa team.
For Florida, Akira Schmid made 25 saves in a loss that ended a three-game winning streak and left the Panthers at 5-3-2. Coach Paul Maurice said his team was behind the play in the first period and lost too many face-offs. Florida plays at Pittsburgh on Thursday, the second game of a back-to-back.