Ottawa Rolls Florida 5-1, Ullmark Barely Breaks a Sweat

Linus Ullmark needed just 17 shots to earn a win, stopping 16 of them as Ottawa dismantled Florida 5-1. Five different Senators found the scoresheet as goals, and the wrist shot was Ottawa's weapon of choice all night long.

Florida actually drew first blood. At 10:00 of the first period, Brady Tkachuk — his seventh of the year — wired a wrist shot past Ullmark, with Matthew Tkachuk and Seth Jones picking up the assists. For a moment, it looked like the Panthers might have something. They didn't. Four minutes and thirteen seconds later, Tim Stützle answered with his sixth goal of the season, Jake Sanderson and Stephen Halliday setting him up, and just like that the game was level. That equalizer, it appears, was the moment Ottawa seized control and never let go.

The second period is where this game was decided. Claude Giroux converted a wrist shot at 9:34 — his second of the year, assisted by Nikolas Matinpalo — to put Ottawa ahead for good. Florida never answered. Shane Pinto made it 3-1 at 17:18, another wrist shot, Sanderson picking up his second assist of the night. Akira Schmid was doing his job in the Florida net — 24 saves on 29 shots is a respectable night's work — but his team gave him nothing offensively after that first-period lead. The story of the night was Ottawa's depth: four different goal scorers through two periods, contributions up and down the lineup.

The third period was a formality dressed up as a hockey game. Warren Foegele scored his first of the season at 7:58, Dylan Cozens and Drake Batherson assisting, to push the lead to 4-1 and drain whatever life remained in Florida's bench. Stephen Halliday put the exclamation point on it at 14:57 — a snap shot, Stützle returning the favor with the assist — for the 5-1 final. Halliday finished with a goal and an assist, Stützle matched him with a goal and an assist, and Sanderson quietly ran the show from the blue line with two helpers. Ottawa looks like a team that can generate offense from everywhere right now, and Florida looks like a team that needs to find a second gear in a hurry. One goal on 17 shots against is not a recipe for anything good.