2023-11-28 03:20:00
With a productive numerical advantage and an Aleksander Barkov in full possession of his means, the Florida Panthers defeated the Ottawa Senators by a score of 5-0 Monday night, in a duel which ended in the greatest chaos.
A dozen game misconducts were called by the referees in the last eight minutes of the match following various altercations.
Jonah Gadjovich, Kevin Stenlund, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Ryan Lomberg, Dmitri Kulikov and Sam Bennett were all ejected from the game in the Panthers camp, while Drake Batherson, Travis Hamonic, Rourke Chartier, Erik Brannstrom, Brady Tkachuk and Mathieu Joseph received game misconduct for Ottawa. Zack MacEwen received a match penalty earlier in the third period.
“For us, there are times when we have to stand up for our teammates. This is something we should be proud of. That means a lot to the guys in this locker room, we’re going to fight back no matter the situation. We care regarding each other, we care regarding winning,” commented Brady Tkachuk following the game.
“It’s just a hockey game. Both teams want to win and it gets a little fractious at times. It was pleasant,” commented Panthers head coach Paul Maurice.
Matthew Tkachuk was also involved in the penalty column during the game with a fight and a total of 11 penalty minutes.
In total, 167 penalty minutes were awarded in the game, the highest total in the NHL this season. In 2022-2023, a game between the Senators and the Panthers was also the scene of the highest number of penalty minutes of the campaign, i.e. 166.
Returning to the game for the first time in almost two weeks, Senators goaltender Joonas Korpisalo allowed five goals on 38 shots to the Panthers, including four scored on the power play. Sam Reinhart scored two goals, while Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe and Eetu Luostarinen also scored.
“We weren’t ready to play. It’s my fault,” said Senators head coach DJ Smith.
Barkov, for his part, took advantage of a three-assist evening to reach the milestone of 400 assists in the NHL, in addition to having taken first place in Panthers history with 192 power play points.
With his second goal of the game, Reinhart joined Brock Boeser and Chris Kreider at the NHL lead this season with seven power play goals.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all 20 shots thrown his way to get his second shutout of the campaign.
An offensive festival through chaos
Barkov and the Panthers wasted no time in laying down the law. From the first moments of the first period, Florida took advantage of a numerical advantage to open the scoring when Reinhart completed a brilliant tic-tac-toe with Matthew Tkachuk and Barkov, who just reached the plateau of 400 assists on the sequence.
Florida came back to attack in the second period. Reinhart took advantage of a bad release from Korpisalo to recover the puck behind the net and beat the Senators goaltender to slip the puck into an empty cage. The sequence was contested by Ottawa for possible offside, but the referees upheld the goal and the Sens received a penalty.
With a numerical advantage in full possession, the Panthers made the Senators pay the price just 70 seconds later. This time, Bennett attacked the opposing net with a magnificent feint at the mouth of the net and scored with a backhand shot.
Tempers began to heat up midway through the third period. Matthew Tkachuk threw down the gloves once morest Jake Sanderson and received a minor penalty for removing his helmet.
Moments later, with the two teams playing four once morest four, Verhaeghe completed a nice pass from Kulikov to increase Florida’s lead to four goals.
Everything then degenerated a few seconds later. Brady Tkachuk collided with Bobrovsky following being stopped by the Panthers goaltender on a breakaway and a melee ensued. Every player on the ice was involved and they all received game misconducts.
A few minutes later, Joseph and Bennett were also ejected from the match following a small altercation during a stoppage in play. Joseph then broke his stick once in the locker room.
Luostarinen completed the score at the end of the match.
The Panthers will continue their trip to Canada on Tuesday, with a matchup once morest the Toronto Maple Leafs, before visiting the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. For their part, the Senators will enjoy a few days off before a duel once morest the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.
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