The Ottawa Senators had a chance against the Florida Panthers for a whole seven seconds on Tuesday.
On the first play of the game, goalie Linus Ullmark and defenceman Jordan Spence got their wires crossed when a puck bounced off of the back boards and in front of the net, and when neither played it, Noah Gregor pounced to open the scoring.
The Panthers scored five in the first period and won 6-3.
Miraculously, the out-of-town scoreboard was filled with regulation losses for fellow teams pushing for final few playoff spots, so Ottawa remains in control of its own destiny.
No time to waste. Let’s get to grading.
Tim Stutzle of the Ottawa Senators gets ready to take a faceoff against the Florida Panthers during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena on March 31, 2026 in Sunrise, Florida.
ForwardsTim Stutzle: C-
It was a bit of a hectic play with Nikolas Matinpalo jumping up at the top of the zone on the Panthers’ zone entry on the first power play of the game, but Mackie Samoskevich was Stutzle’s to cover and he left him wide open. The German also had his pocket picked in the D zone right before Florida’s 6-1 goal. Stutzle finished with one assist and a plus-1 rating thanks to a primary helper on Jordan Spence’s 6-2 goal, but he was careless with the puck far too many times, and when the Senators were given life with third-period power plays galore, he was sloppy on zone entries and stagnant once they got set up in the O zone.
Claude Giroux: C-
A brutal stat line for Giroux on Tuesday: zero points, zero shots, zero hits, two giveaways and a minus-1 rating in 16:17 of ice time.
Drake Batherson: C+
Batherson scored his 30th goal of the season, being gifted the puck off of a face-off scramble and ripping a wrister top right. It was his only shot of the game.
Brady Tkachuk: B+
Tkachuk was one of the very few players that remained engaged when it was all coming apart at the seams in the first. He made a slick move to the inside on a 3-on-2 for a backhand chance in tight, and then immediately crushed a Panther in the corner. His four shots tied for the team-high.
Dylan Cozens: B-
Cozens led the Sens with four hits. The Panthers played him hard all night and he struggled to get off shots off.
Ridly Greig: B
Greig fought off Dmitry Kulikov in the neutral zone before setting up Michael Amadio in the slot with a backhand pass for the 6-3 goal. At that point, it seemed like the Sens still had a little fight left in them.
Shane Pinto: C
Pinto’s high-sticking penalty on Tomas Nosek’s in the first was more unfortunate than anything else. Both players were jousting, and as homer-ish as it may sound, the replay nearly looked like Nosek’s face leaned into Pinto’s stick. Either way, the Panthers scored on the ensuing power play. Pinto finished the game with four giveaways and one hit in 20:48.
Michael Amadio: A-
Amadio one-timed a pass from Greig on a 2-on-1 to cut it to 6-3, and had a secondary assist earlier in the game. He was one of three forwards to finish plus-1.
Nick Cousins: C+
Cousins wasn’t very noticeable, but most Sens fans couldn’t bear to watch after the first few went in anyways.
Warren Foegele: B
Coach Travis Green said his team looked flat, and they certainly did as a whole, but Foegele was an outlier, sprinting in on the forecheck and fighting for chances in front.
Lars Eller: B-
The fourth line had some good shifts, desperately trying to give the team some momentum when there was still a sliver of hope.
Fabian Zetterlund: C
Zetterlund had one shot in 12:11.
DefencemenArtem Zub: C+
Zub didn’t take the man or the pass while defending the 2-on-1 that led to the 5-0 goal. He took a costly high-sticking penalty, threw three hits and got one particularly dangerous shot off from the point in the first.
Jordan Spence: B
Spence was totally caught off guard when Ullmark backed out of playing the puck in the opening seconds of the game, but the defencemen should shoulder partial blame for not being able to react quickly enough. He was one of the only Senators with some urgency on the power play, getting a couple of quality one-timers through and looking to make plays int he quarterback position.
Tyler Kleven: B-
Kleven’s high-sticking penalty, the third such infraction from the Sens in the first seven minutes of the game, put Ottawa down two men and felt like the final nail in the coffin at the time. Kleven actually had a decent game after that, recording three shots, two hits, two giveaways and two takeaways in 22:39.
Nikolas Matinpalo: C+
Matinpalo looked clumsy at times defending 1-on-1, getting burned with quick pivots and routes behind the net. He could’ve been slightly less bold on the penalty kill ahead of the 2-0 goal, retreating to his normal position in the D zone instead of lunging in to break up a play.
Carter Yakemchuk: C
Yakemchuk was far too hesitant with the puck in the offensive zone, his indecision leading to multiple blocked shots and turnovers at the top of the slot on the power play. It was awful to see him losing his balance after Gregor clipped him in the head with a hit in the third period. He’ll likely miss some time.
Lassi Thomson: A-
That was a solid game from Thomson in his third appearance with the Sens this season. He was super confident in the O zone, getting creative at the point and making some slick plays to keep the puck in and the pressure on. Thomson got his first NHL point in four years when he hit Greig with a stretch pass in the third ahead of the 6-3 goal.
GoaltendersLinus Ullmark: F
Ullmark looked entirely out of sync from the drop of the puck, and it’s no surprise seeing as he opted out of starting against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. In the time between Thursday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tuesday’s game in Sunrise, Ullmark had one full practice and one morning skate. That’ll take the rhythm right out of you. It’s a shame, too, because he was coming off two of his best starts in consecutive games last week. Of the five goals he allowed in 14:36 on Tuesday, he could’ve been better on four. The 1-0 goal is entirely due to a boneheaded error, failing to get the puck to safety after pulling out his goal stick to show Spence that he will at the bare minimum slow it down for him. The penalty killers did not help him out with in coverage on the 2-0 goal, but he anticipates the pass option far too late. The 3-0 goal is a total shame, as Ullmark is unable to squeeze a weak, sharp-angled shot. And on the 4-0 goal, he’s still down in his butterfly, making no effort to fight through a screen before Eetu Luostarinen gathers the puck in the slot and feeds A.J. Greer for the one-timer. The only other time a goaltender has received an ‘F’ grade in our post-game analysis was when Leevi Merilainen allowed six goals on 19 shots against the Montreal Canadiens in a 6-5 overtime loss on Jan. 17. You remember the game.
James Reimer: B+
The 38-year-old has played more minutes than the Senators’ No. 1 goalie in the past week and a half in the middle of a push for the post-season. That’s entirely unacceptable.
Now it’s time for your take; tell us in the comment section which Senators impressed you and who needs to improve their game.
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