Senators fall apart in biggest game of the season as Panthers score 5 in the first period

This wasn't just a bad start. It was a flat-out collapse in the biggest spot Ottawa has seen all season, with the Panthers scoring at 0:08, 1:06, 9:09, 14:02, and 14:36.

Florida owned the puck right away and never let go. The Panthers outshot Ottawa 18-6 in the opening frame and turned a tense playoff night into a track meet before the game had any chance to settle.

The penalties buried Ottawa even faster. Shane Pinto went off at 0:15, Artem Zub at 6:05, and Tyler Kleven at 7:13, leaving the Senators chasing structure instead of playing their game.

Florida made them pay on special teams. Mackie Samoskevich scored on the power play, Carter Verhaeghe added another on the power play, and suddenly Ottawa's penalty kill was getting ripped apart.

Then the even-strength damage kept coming. Noah Gregor opened it, A.J. Greer made it 4-0, and Verhaeghe's second goal turned a bad period into total embarrassment.

Ottawa came into the night at 38-25-10 with 86 points, sitting right on the Eastern wild-card line. Florida started the game at 35-35-3, well back of that race, which makes this opening even harder to accept.

The Senators had a chance to put pressure on the teams around them. Instead, they handed life to everybody chasing that wild-card spot and left themselves open to a standings punch they didn't need.

That's why this lands so hard for Green. His group won 6 of its last 10 before puck drop, but none of that matters if the bench comes out this loose in a game with this much on it.

Stutzle entered the night with 32 goals and 75 points, and Ottawa needed its top players to drag the group into the fight. Instead, the Senators spent the period defending, scrambling, and fishing pucks out of their net.

Faceoffs didn't save them either. Ottawa won 56.5% of the draws, yet that edge meant nothing because Florida got cleaner looks, faster entries, and way too much time around the crease.

The Senators can still push back over the final 40 minutes, but the damage is already severe. In a game they could not afford to waste, they gave away the script in less than 15 minutes.

And if this score holds, Ottawa won't remember this night as just one bad period. It'll feel like the night a playoff spot started slipping out of its hands.