Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) makes a glove save on Ottawa Senators centre Tim Stützle (18) during second period NHL action in Ottawa on Thursday.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Fabian Zetterlund scored a pair of goals and had Ottawa Senators’ fans dreaming of the playoffs with a 5-1 win over the Florida Panthers Thursday night.
The victory keeps the Senators firmly holding the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and just two points back of the Boston Bruins, who hold the first.
With their third straight win, the Senators (42-27-10) wrap up their five-game homestand with a 4-1-0 record, with the lone loss coming against Minnesota.
Ottawa added reinforcement to its blueline with Thomas Chabot returning to Ottawa’s lineup exactly two weeks after having surgery for a broken arm. Chabot was initially expected to miss four to eight weeks.
Ottawa took a 3-0 lead 3:03 into the third period. Artem Zub grabbed a Jake Sanderson rebound and snapped a shot to the far side for his fifth of the season to beat Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped 25 shots.
The Panthers (37-38-4) finally solved Linus Ullmark, who made 21 saves, at 14:17 of the third. A.J. Greer found Jesper Boqvist at the top of the slot and squeezed a shot under Ullmark’s right arm.
Claude Giroux added an empty-net goal with 3:17 remaining to put any hope of a comeback out of reach. Nineteen seconds later, Zetterlund scored his second of the game.
Both teams generated a few good chances in the second but both Ullmark and Bobrovsky were solid.
Bobrovsky made a huge glove save on a Tim Stützle breakaway early in the period, while Ullmark had Gustav Forsling shaking his head after he foiled his attempt late in the period.
Standing in front, Drake Batherson redirected a Sanderson shot on the power play for his 32nd of the season to open the scoring 6:49 into the first period.
With three minutes left in the period, Zetterlund took a Lars Elllers pass and wristed it over Bobrovsky’s shoulder.
With a depleted blueline, Florida recalled defencemen Marek Alscher and Ludvig Jansson from their American Hockey League affiliate. The two made their NHL debut Thursday.
Takeaways
Senators: Ottawa played a solid game at both ends of the ice from start to finish.
Panthers: Florida played hard but just couldn’t contain the Senators.
Key moment
Trailing 2-0 in the second, Bobrovsky robbed Stützle on a breakaway.
Key stat
The Senators have outscored their opponents 17-6 during their three-game winning streak.
Up next
Senators: Visit the New York Islanders on Saturday.
Panthers: Head to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs on Saturday.