Senators, Panthers combine for 167 penalty minutes in tension-filled game

The Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers combined for 167 penalty minutes in a tension-filled 5-0 win by the Panthers on Monday night.

The tensions began to rise after the buzzer sounded to end the second period when Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk and Senators goalie Jonas Korpisalo jawed at each other while skating off the ice. Tkachuk (four minutes) and Travis Hamonic were given unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

Then, five minutes into the third, Senators forward Zack MacEwen was given a five-minute match penalty for a hit to Tkachuk’s head. The penalty came in front of penalty boxes after Tkachuk threw a hit on Hamonic. MacEwen quickly followed up with a hit on Tkachuk, leading with his elbow, then continued punching the Panthers forward after they fell to the ice.

Officials initially flagged MacEwen for elbowing but changed the penalty to hit to the head after a review. MacEwen has previously been suspended one game for kneeing Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse in 2021.

The drama didn’t end there. Halfway through the third, Tkachuk fought Senators defenceman Jake Sanderson and received an extra two-minute minor for roughing.

Less than 30 seconds after that, Senators captain Brady Tkachuk took a cross-checking penalty. When his penalty ended, Brady Tkachuk was sprung on a breakaway. He didn’t score but he made contact with Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, sparking a line brawl. Officials gave all 10 skaters involved 10-minute misconducts.

Mathieu Joseph and Sam Bennett were later given 10-minute misconducts after jawing at each other to end the march to the penalty box.

This isn’t the first time these two teams have engaged in a penalty-filled game. On April 6 of last season, the two teams combined for 166 penalty minutes in a 7-2 Panthers win.

Sam Reinhart’s two goals almost got overlooked in the battle of the Tkachuk brothers Monday night.

In the end, Matthew’s Florida Panthers got the better of Brady’s Ottawa Senators with a 5-0 win.

Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe and Eetu Luostarinen also scored for Florida. Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves for his second shutout of the season.

The win allowed the Panthers (13-7-1) to snap a two-game losing skid as they kick off three straight road games within the division.

Ottawa (8-9-0) struggled early and never managed to get on equal footing with the Panthers. Korpisalo, who stopped 33 shots, got the start in goal after missing the last two games with a minor injury.