Apr 9, 2026; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators center Ridly Greig (71) controls the puck as he skates in front of Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) in the first period at the Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-IMAGN Images

The Florida Panthers losing streak hit four after they were beaten by a 5-1 count by the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre.

Fabian Zetterlund scored in the first period, adding on after Drake Batherson’s game-opening power-play goal, and again in the third to lead the offensive charge for Ottawa.

Artem Zub and former Panther Claude Giroux also tallied and Jake Sanderson had a pair of helpers for the Senators, who strengthened its hold on second wild card in the Eastern Conference and avoided a season-series sweep at hands of lowly Florida.

Jesper Boqvist scored the only goal for the Panthers, off a 3-on-3 rush, which made the score 3-1 with 5:43 remaining in regulation. After taking a lead pass from Eetu Luostarinen, A.J. Greer’s backhand dish found Boqvist open in the slot and his wrister just made through the pads of Linus Ullmark.

Ullmark finished the game with 22 saves while Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 of 27 shots faced for the Cats, who will finish off its five-game road trip against Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday in a tilt that wil help determine who gets more balls in the draft lottery.

The Five Hole

Jesper Boqvist’s goal was just his fourth of the season and marked the first time that he lit the lamp since all the way back on November 24, in a 8-3 win over the Nashville Predators.

Boqvist, Sam Bennett, Donovan Sebrango and Eetu Luostarinen paced the Panthers with three shots on goal apiece.

Gustav Forsling logged a game-high 27:05 of ice time, blocked a game-high four shots and finished with a minus-three rating.

Marek Alscher made his NHL debut and played 19:28. He went even on the night and was credited with two shots, a hit and a block.

Ludvig Jansson also played his first NHL game and received 13:37 of ice time. Jansson put one shot on Linus Ullmark, blocked a shot and went minus-one.

Stat Card