In Ottawa, the Florida Panthers rediscovered their game on Thursday night in a 6-0 drubbing of the Senators. 
“This morning, we emphasized having a good start,” Ottawa’s Jake Sanderson said. “We knew they were going to come out strong and we didn’t match it and it snowballed the rest of the game.”
That didn’t work out.
In the first 97 seconds of the game, Nick Cousins and Dmitry Kulikov struck to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead.
“It was a great start for our team. We came out flying,” the Panthers’ Sam Bennett said. “We came out ready to play. Our bench was loud, and we were having fun again.”
Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves in the win.
“The penalty kill, all season long, delivered for us,” Bobrovsky said. “The guys sacrifice their body to block shots and make smart plays, composed, you know? It’s a great win, great goals, beautiful goals and great defense.”
The Panthers moved to 48-24-5, who had one only twice in the last 10 games.
“I liked the way we played in the defensive zone, they’ve got a really active blue line,” Panthers’ coach Paul Maurice said. “And we were blocking shots at 4-0, 5-0, 6-0. I like that an awful lot because the puck doesn’t hurt any less at 5-0. And the penalty kill, clearly, really strong, great sticks but a lot of pressure on it tonight.”
The Senators dropped to 33-38-4.
“Obviously, they outplayed us,” Ottawa interim coach Jacques Martin said. “I thought, early first, [on the] power play we had some good opportunities with the puck, and we didn’t score. And then it just seems like we didn’t stay with it, and we had some frustration that built up. Also, giving up the two goals early in the game, you know, puts us behind the eight ball.”
Anton Lundell pushed the Panthers’ lead to 3-0 with a marker at 2:35 of the middle frame.
“I like the shot, you know?” Lundell said. “Sometimes you see it, you have a little opening and you have some time and confidence to make that play. But today, I just had a feeling, and I went after it.”
Sam Bennett stretched the advantage to 4-0 at 4:19, scoring off a wrister from the slot.
Sam Reinhart potted his 53rd marker of the campaign at 17:56 of the second for a 5-0 lead. .
“Not much needs to be said, that was embarrassing,” Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk said. “We’ve been down two before and we stuck with it. Tonight, different story.”
In the third period, Mathew Tkachuk ballooned the score to 6-0 with a marker at 3:54 for the final count on the scoreboard.
Maurice earned his 865th win with the victory.
“What hits me is sometimes I think back, and I thought, ‘If I could coach 500 games in this league, that would be something else,'” Maurice said. “Because I think the average number is about 250 or 350. I think you hit it and you go, ‘If I could get 500 wins, that would be something.’
“And then you just start getting older. I have more fun coaching the game now than I ever have in my life. I like the game, where it’s at, I really like these players in this organization, and I’ve been lucky. I’ve worked with great teams and great people and that’s kind of how I got here today.”
Joonas Korpisalo got the start for the Sens, he yielded four goals and made 13 saves before getting the hook in the middle frame.
Anton Forsberg, who made 12 saves in a mop up role.
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