For the Ottawa Senators, this game against the Florida Panthers is hugely important. Welcome back to NHL Predictions as we break down key storylines, statistics, and analysis to try to decipher how this one will play out. Will Ottawa come away with the two points and drastically help their Stanley Cup Playoff hopes? Alternatively, will the Panthers play spoiler, like they did in the teams’ previous matchup ten days ago? Find out our thoughts next.
NHL Predictions with Senators and Panthers
Season Series: Panthers are up 3-0, after a convincing win last time in the meeting between the two clubs.
Puck Drop: 7:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
How to Watch: TSN5, RDS2, SCRIPPS
Location: The fabulous Canadian Tire Centre, in the Canadian national capital region, in Kanata, Ontario.
Credit Image: © Justin Cooper/Cal Sport Media
As we seen from last time out, even if the Florida Panthers roster is somewhat depleted, they still pack a punch. Sergei Bobrovsky is still able to steal a game in this league on any given night. Even though he gave way to Daniil Tarasov last time, it just goes to show that the Panthers can still produce world class goaltending on any given night.
Some News for the Panthers
On the blueline, yes, one of their best in Aaron Ekblad is out, but they still possess high-end ability with the likes of Gustav Forsling and Seth Jones back there. Ottawa will not be able to take them lightly in this regard, either. They also have Donovan Sebrango penciled in the third pairing, who was formerly in the Sens organization.
Upfront, one player’s status who was up in the air was Matthew Tkachuk. Thanks to awaiting the birth of his and wife Ellie’s first child, he had missed the Montreal game. His status was uncertain as of publication, so as always, be sure to check social media for all the latest lineup news. This might be good news for Ottawa, as he torched them with a goal and three assists in their recent matchup.
To keep the celebration going, Sam Bennett and wife Zoe just had their first child together a few days ago. The post Cup celebrations must have been fun. Bennett is in the lineup for the Panthers.
The Sens Story
For the Ottawa Senators, one good piece of news, was the sight of Thomas Chabot at practice. What’s more, is that he was an attendee in a regular coloured (so contact permitting) jersey. However, there was some uncertainty if that is because it was an optional skate, but he did appear to be engaging with teammates in drills. In any case, it just seems like great news for a player who broke his arm only back on March 23rd, versus the New York Rangers. He had surgery to repair the break, so must be well on the path to recovery to be this far along all ready.
Then today came and he was taking full reps. That followed by head coach Travis Green confirming he is in tonight.
17 days after suffering a broken arm Chabby is good to go tonight 👊 pic.twitter.com/VQSAtQoGUU
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) April 9, 2026
Tyler Kleven remains out with a suspected broken jaw for a couple weeks. In his absence, Jordan Spence has been playing very well. He scored off a beautiful shot to open the scoring in the Sens last game
Speaking of a big performance by a Tkachuk, captain Brady Tkachuk had a career-high four assists in Tuesday’s 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Teams’ Standings
As we enter play today, the Eastern Conference Stanley Cup Playoff race remains very tight, indeed. Six teams remain within three points of one another, and only two spots up for grabs. Fortunately for Ottawa, they currently hold down the second Wild Card spot, and have an 84% probability of qualifying for post-season action.
Conversely, Panthers were recently eliminated from post-season consideration. It seems they were just unable to overcome key long-term injuries. The two most notably were captain Aleksander Barkov, as well Tkachuk missed a good chunk of the campaign.
Ottawa Senators Centre Tim Stutzle on the Brink of Superstardom
Today’s goaltending should be a battle of the heavyweights. Linus Ullmark, who was announced yesterday as the Sens Bill Masterton Award nominee against Sergei Bobrovsky. Even though both goalies have numbers that are not quite up to their own personal standards, the potential is there for a duel. Ullmark comes in 26-12-8, with a 2.82 goals-against average and an .887 save percentage, with two shutouts. Bobrovsky’s numbers are close, but probably a little worse. He’s 27-22-1 on a struggling Panther team, with four shutouts. His goals-against average of 3.05 and save percentage of .878, both fail in comparison to Ullmark in 2025-26.
Linus Ullmark has been chosen by the Ottawa chapter of @thephwa as the @senators' nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. My latest for @TheHockeyNews: https://t.co/LbMSaXK9Ai
— Graeme Nichols (@GraemeNichols) April 8, 2026
In terms of team stats, the Sens have a slight advantage on the power play. At 23.2%, they are 10th in the NHL, while Florida is 22nd with a success rate of 19.5%. This would be offset by the penalty kills. Ottawa continues to have a poor percentage at 74.9%, good for 29th league wide. Conversely, Florida is stronger in tenth at 81.1%.
NHL Predictions
Ottawa looks to stay in a playoff spot. Following their big win against Tampa, and wanting retribution for their last loss against Florida, we think they prevail.
Prediction: Ottawa 4 – Florida 2
Prop Bets
For our classic anytime goal scorers, we like Carter Verhaeghe for the Panthers. Despite their depleted lineup, he still brings skill to the lineup. Last time out against Ottawa, he found the scoresheet with two goals and one assist. We like him to bury biscuit again. Meanwhile for Ottawa, take Shane Pinto to find the net. He has goals in three of his last four games. Furthermore, he is having a career year. He has already set career highs in goals (22), assists (21), and points (43). Look for him to continue to help power the Sens across the finish line.
Main Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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