National Hockey League
Florida 3, Ottawa 0
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 3, 2022
Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, Florida
Referees: Jake Brenk, Trevor Hanson
Linesmen: Ryan Daisy, CJ Murray
Attendance: 16499

Florida scored two third-period goals in 12 seconds -- finally solving red-hot Ottawa goalie Anton Forsberg -- as the host Panthers defeated the Senators 3-0 on Thursday night in Sunrise, Fla.

Patric Hornqvist and Ryan Lomberg scored those goals in the third, padding a lead provided by Mason Marchment in the first.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 18 saves, improving his record to 27-6-3 while earning his second shutout of the season.

But Forsberg, who beat the Panthers earlier this season, stole the show for much of Thursday's game. He finished with 45 saves.

Florida snapped a three-game losing streak, with all of those defeats at home. The Panthers lead the Eastern Conference in home wins (24-6-0).

Panthers star Jonathan Huberdeau had his franchise-record streak of at least one assist in 10 straight games broken.

Ottawa's Connor Brown had four opportunities for short-handed breakaway goals. Two of his shots were saved by Bobrovsky. On the other two, Florida's defense recovered, preventing a shot.

The game changed in the first period when Erik Brannstrom's high stick drew blood on the face of Panthers rookie Anton Lundell. That resulted in a double-minor, four-minute penalty.

Florida got one goal out of that, scoring when the puck went in off Marchment's left skate with 10:04 expired.

Ottawa challenged the goal, but the officials ruled that Ottawa's Nick Holden pushed Marchment into the blue paint and into the path of the puck.

Losing the challenge resulted in another penalty against Ottawa, but the Panthers could not add to their total despite having a five-on-three advantage for two minutes.

In fact, Brown had two of his breakaways during that span, and Bobrovsky also saved Alex Formenton's rebound shot.

Florida finished the first period with 25 shots on goal to just seven for Ottawa.

There were no goals in the second period -- the Panthers had 12 shots to just four for Ottawa.

Through two periods, the Panthers had attempted 37 shots to just 21 for Ottawa. However, the Panthers were just 1-for-6 on the power play.

The Panthers finally made it 2-0 with 3:09 gone in the second as Hornqvist slipped a rebound in between Forsberg's pads.

Lomberg scored 12 seconds later, also on a rebound from in close.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Ottawa   Florida
N/A Points Patric Hornqvist 2
N/A Goals Patric Hornqvist 1
N/A Assists Patric Hornqvist 1
N/A Power Play Goals Patric Hornqvist 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Anton Forsberg .938 Save Percentage Sergei Bobrovsky 1.000
Anton Forsberg 45 Saves Sergei Bobrovsky 18
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Ottawa 18 0 0-3 7-9 55 27
Florida 48 3 2-9 3-3 23 30
Upcoming Games
  • Florida will play their next game at home against Detroit. The Panthers have a W/L % of .714 after a win and .579 after a loss.
  • Ottawa will play their next game on the road against Arizona. The Senators have a W/L % of .316 after a win and .382 after a loss.