Forsberg stops 40 shots to lead Senators past Panthers
Published
OTTAWA - Anton Forsberg stopped 40 shots to lead the Ottawa Senators past the Florida Panthers 3-0 on Saturday afternoon.
Forsberg recorded his third shutout of the season for Ottawa (41-29-6).
The Senators opened the scoring at 11:21 of the first period on defenceman Jake Sanderson's goal. Drake Batherson tipped in a Dylan Cozens slapshot at 14:17 to make it 2-0.
There was sheepish celebration between the duo _ as it came just seconds after Batherson missed a tap-in into an open net. Sanderson registered his second point of the game with an assist on the Batherson goal.
Matthew Highmore added an empty-net goalwith less than three minutes to go.
The Panthers (44-28-4) had not been shut out since Dec. 28 when they fell to the Montreal Canadiens 4-0. That was their second straight scoreless effort, having lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning by the same 4-0 margin Dec. 23.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 19 saves for Florida, which has lost four straight.
Forsberg was peppered with shots from Florida but went coast-to-coast for a save at the midpoint of the second on Seth Jones, then made a highlight-reel save on Sam Reinheart as the period inched to its close.
He continued to stand on his head through the third.
The Senators firmly have the playoffs in sight as they're 12 games above .500. Ottawa is aiming to make the postseason for the first time since 2016-17.
TAKEAWAYS
Florida continued to try to find some spark with the season ending. The Panthers cobbled together a lineup Saturday afternoon as they're still down plenty of their stars, including Matthew Tkachuk, and look to snap a four-game losing skid Sunday.
The Senators were thrilled to have such an impressive effort in net from Forsberg as Saturday marked the first of a weekend back-to-back. Ottawa took both games against Florida opponents this week, having defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Thursday.
KEY MOMENT
With two minutes left in the second it looked like Florida had snuck one past Forsberg, but it was immediately called a high stick to keep the shutout intact.
KEY STAT
Sanderson registered a goal for the fourth straight home game.
UP NEXT
Senators: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday afternoon
Panthers: Head to Detroit to play the Red Wings on Sunday afternoon
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2025.