Pageau scores on penalty shot in overtime as Senators upset Panthers 3-2

“It was time because we deserved the last game and we deserved this one,” said Senators coach Guy Boucher. “I think Reimer has played terrific against us this year, and I’ve been told it’s not just this year for some reason, and he was doing it again tonight. I thought we deserved more goals than that.

“It was fitting that we won this game.”

The Panthers are in a heated playoff race as they look to catch the New Jersey Devils for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and would have loved to walk away with the extra point.

Florida now trails New Jersey by three points with a game in hand as the Devils lost 4-3 in overtime to Pittsburgh.

“Any other time of year you play a back-to-back game and you get a point out of the building on a back-to-back you’d be happy with it,” said Panthers coach Bob Boughner. “Obviously two points are what matter the most for us in the race that we’re in. We saw what was happening on the scoreboard on the jumbotron and it was a chance to gain a point on a team we’re chasing and we didn’t get it done.”

Aaron Ekblad and Evgeni Dadonov scored for the Panthers (39-29-8) in regulation time. Reimer made 27 saves and was exceptional at times.

The overtime period provided end-to-end action for the 15,095 on hand at Canadian Tire Centre as both teams had excellent chances to end things and for things to be decided on a penalty shot added to the excitement — at least from the Senators perspective.

“It could have gone either way,” said Boughner of the penalty shot being called. “I just think that this time of year, the fight that we’re in, it would have been nice to see it called just a penalty with 13 seconds to go in a game. It’s a major decision that ended up costing us a point, hopefully it’s not a costly point at the end of the day.”

Trailing 2-1 Ottawa took just 16 seconds to tie the game as Paajarvi tipped a Zack Smith shot past Reimer.

With an assist on the goal, Erik Karlsson picked up his 50th helper of the season giving him his fifth career season with 50 assists.

Pageau had a number of chances in the second period and made good on one and was robbed on another.

Ottawa took a 1-0 lead on Pageau’s 13th of the season as he chased down his own shot that went wide and then tucked it in behind Reimer just 1:24 into the second period.

The Panthers tied the game with a power-play goal as Ekblad, with his 16th ties a franchise record for goals by a defenceman. Just 1:31 later Florida took the lead as Dadonov took a pass in the slot and rang a shot in off the post and past Anderson.

Pageau looked like he had a sure goal late in the period, but Reimer made a great glove save to preserve the lead.

The Senators appeared to open the scoring at the 14-minute mark as Pageau broke in on Reimer, but upon review it was ruled the puck never crossed the goal line.

Notes: Ottawa D Chris Wideman was shut down for the season as his surgeon felt it was in his best interest in his recovery from a hamstring injury. Mark Stone skated today and is optimistic to play soon. Stone missed his tenth straight game with a leg injury. Marian Gaborik missed his fourth straight with an undisclosed injury. Florida’s Maxim Mamin, Radim Vrbata, Connor Brickley, Micheal Haley and Ian McCoshen were a healthy scratch.

Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Pageau scores on penalty shot in overtime as Senators upset Panthers 3-2

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