Senators Limp Into Four Nations Break After 5-1 Loss to the Panthers

The break for the Four Nations tournament over the next two weeks can't come soon enough for the Ottawa Senators. They were hot with a five-game winning streak after defeating the Nashville Predators on Monday, but their three-game set in the state of Florida was anything but a vacation. After losing back-to-back games against Tampa Bay, the Senators were looking to go into the break with a win against the defending Cup champions, but it wasn't meant to be.

The first period wasn't exactly the smoothest, and it felt like both teams were treating the puck like a grenade. Florida had much more of the puck though, and the only reason they didn't score any of their 16 shots was because of the steady play from Linus Ullmark. Ottawa had just 9 shots in the period but they were able to capitalize first.

With 13:22 left in the period and halfway through a Senators powerplay, Claude Giroux made a miraculous dive to keep the puck in. Then all it took was a phenomenal tic-tac-toe from Tim Stützle, Drake Batherson, and Brady Tkachuk to make it 1-0 Ottawa. It was a crime that Giroux didn't get an assist on the goal because he made it happen, but the passing and finish from Tkachuk was incredibly satisfying to watch:

That must have felt nice for Tkachuk who missed a breakaway earlier in the period after he exited the penalty box.

The first period foreshadowed the rest of the game though because Florida simply looked more put together. Artem Zub took a slashing penalty 4:38 into the period, and Matthew Tkachuk was able to even the "Tkachuk Score" at one. He had enough room to walk out of the corner and beat Ullmark on the far side to tie the game. Then the next 11 minutes were pure dread.

Ridly Greig had a delayed penalty in the offensive zone after he got into a skirmish with Carter Verhaeghe (even though Verhaeghe was also roughing up Greig), and the Panthers were able to take advantage with their sixth man on the ice. Tkachuk took a soft shot from the point, and Alex Barkov tipped it past Ullmark who had no chance on the deflection. Who knows if the extra attacker made a difference in the play, but it was a frustrating development.

Matthew Highmore also took a penalty a few minutes later after he ran into Sergei Bobrovsky, but it was clearly unintentional as he didn't have anywhere to go with Greig right in front of him. The Panthers were looking for retribution, yet somehow Anton Lundell didn't end up with a penalty on a defenseless Highmore:

Luckily, the Panthers didn't score on that powerplay, but it didn't matter that much because Gustav Forsling would make it 3-1 shortly after anyway. Forsling came in on a one-on-two and ripped a great low shot past Ullmark to extend their lead to 3-1. Then just 1:32 after that, the Panthers essentially put the game out of reach with a one-timer from Sam Bennett. Florida had a three-on-two and Tkachuk's perfect pass was a great setup for Bennett to one-time it past Ullmark who couldn't get there in time. After staying alive in a chaotic game, it all of a sudden felt out of reach.

Brady Tkachuk had a wide-open net in the last two minutes that could have given the Senators some life, but Bobrovsky robbed him and the 4-1 deficit heading into the third period felt insurmountable. The third period wasn't much different in terms of chance creation for Ottawa, so there wasn't a chance to even make it close. Travis Green pulled the goalie very early to see if they could make a miraculous comeback, but Lundell was able to make it 5-1 with an empty-net goal. After five straight wins, the Senators head into the break with three straight losses.

Notable Performances:

• This trip to Florida was extremely concerning, as it showed how much the Senators miss Josh Norris and Shane Pinto. Good teams can overcome injuries though, and I'm not sure if Ottawa can do that—at least with forward injuries.
• I've liked most of what Nikolas Matinpalo has given the Senators so far in a depth role, but in his 9:49 of 5v5 ice time, he was on for two shot attempts for and 19 against...Not ideal.
• Then again, Artem Zub and Brady Tkachuk were the only players above 50% in Corsi, at 53.33% and 51.16%.
• While Ullmark was a stand-out in the first period, he could've had some of the goals tonight. Still, he needed to be perfect if Ottawa wanted to win tonight.
• You can tell how badly Brady wants to beat Matthew, as he had a goal and could have easily had a hat trick. He posted 13 shot attempts, with 11 of those on net, and he was the only dangerous threat tonight.

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