The Florida Panthers no longer have a chance to win a third straight Stanley Cup, but they can hinder the Ottawa Senators’ quest to reach the postseason.
Though mired in a three-game losing streak, the host Panthers look to continue their home dominance over the playoff-contending Senators Tuesday night in Sunrise, Fla.
Florida won the first two meetings with Ottawa this season, which included a 6-2 home win on Oct. 11 that stretched its home winning streak against the Senators to seven games. During that stretch, the Panthers outscored the Sens 31-10.
Injuries and inconsistency will keep Florida (35-35-3, 73 points) out of the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons. The Panthers enter Tuesday’s game in a 2-6-0 rut and have totaled five goals in the last three contests.
The Panthers yielded the first three goals Sunday in the third period before Mackie Samoskevich scored in the final minute of a 3-1 road loss to the New York Rangers.
“Just keep plugging away,” said veteran Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad. “There’s not many (games) left and we just have to stick together. Do it together and find a way to feel good about ourselves at some point.”
Ottawa (38-25-10, 86 points) entered Monday’s action two points out of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Senators have earned just one point in their last two contests, which followed a four-game winning streak that was part of a 15-3-2 stretch. Dylan Cozens and Jordan Spence scored to give the Senators a 2-0 first-period lead Saturday at Tampa Bay, but that was all the offense they could manage during a 4-2 defeat.
“We need to do a better job of helping each other out,” said Cozens, who snapped a three-game scoring drought.
With little room for error down the stretch, the Senators now look to avoid losing back-to-back games in regulation for the first time since Jan. 24.
“We have to bring our A-game,” said Spence, who has recorded seven of his 26 points in the last eight games.
“It’s a mental reset. … Hopefully we can start our momentum again.”
Ottawa netminder Linus Ullmark, the club’s workhorse who has a 2.22 goals-against average in his last four starts, could be back in the lineup after he needed to rest Saturday and was not available. Since joining the Senators prior to the 2024-25 season, Ullmark has allowed 11 goals to the Panthers while fashioning a 1-2-0 record.
Veteran James Reimer, who owns a 2.48 GAA in 11 starts since joining the Senators in mid-January, stopped 23 of 27 shots in Saturday’s loss against the Lightning.
Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky (26-21-1, 3.00 goals-against average this season) has allowed just six goals while winning all five of his home starts versus Ottawa since joining the Panthers in 2019-20. Meanwhile, backup Daniil Tarasov has yielded 18 goals during his current four-start losing streak.
This marks the first matchup between brothers Matthew and Brady Tkachuk this season. Matthew was injured for the first two 2025-26 meetings, but he has posted eight goals with 21 assists in 24 games against Brady’s Senators, which includes his time with Calgary (2016-22).
Brady Tkachuk, though, has totaled just eight points in 21 career games versus Florida.
Matthew Tkachuk has scored nine points in 11 home games this season – all of them coming in the last seven.
