Panthers GameDay vs. Senators: How to Watch, Lines, Goalies, Odds

FORT LAUDERDALE — The Florida Panthers square off against the Ottawa Senators tonight in Sunrise.

Although this will not be a Tkachuk Bowl what with Matthew out with injury, it will be a reunion with everyone’s favorite Cousins back in town.

Nick Cousins, the popular former Panthers Pest, will play his first game in Sunrise since the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Now with the Senators, Cousins told the Miami Herald on Friday that playing for the Panthers is something he will never forget.

“So many good memories here,’’ Cousins said. “Probably the most fun I’ve had playing hockey was playing down here. Lots of good memories. This place will hold a special place in my heart for the rest of my life.”

The Panthers are happy to see Cousins back as well — although their opinion may change once the game gets going tonight.

Cousins is a well-known wordsmith on the ice, and no one knows the Panthers better than Cousins.

“He likes to chirp, stir things up,” Sam Bennett said. “I wouldn’t be surprised to hear more of that.’’

Added Paul Maurice: “Any guy who has 16 nicknames is well liked, right? He hears it. He was a part of that ‘have fun, play hard’ thing we’ve got going. He was a really important part of that.”

GAMEDAY NOTES: SENATORS @ PANTHERS

• The Panthers placed Dmitry Kulikov on IR with Maurice saying the veteran defenseman is still weighing his options for recovery. Kulikov, Maurice said, may have surgery or rehab. More will be known soon. Kulikov left Thursday’s game midway through the second after going hard into the wall.
• How to Watch: The Panthers are back on local TV tonight against the Senators; The game can be streamed locally on Panthers+, nationally on ESPN+. The game will be part of Hockey Night in Canada on Sportsnet as well.
• Starting Goalies: The Panthers will have Sergei Bobrovsky back in net. Ottawa goes with Linus Ullmark.
• NHL Betting Odds: The Panthers are favorites on the money line (-145) at the local book. To win with the Panthers, a $145 bet pays $100.

PREGAME READING FROM FHN

• The GameDay Panthers Parlay is here; here are what we think are some good bets for tonight.
• The Panthers and Senators may be missing Matthew Tkachuk, but this game has some serious juice.
• Kulikov may be out, but Uvis Balinskis should fit right back in.

ON DECK: GAME No. 3

OTTAWA SENATORS at FLORIDA PANTHERS 

• When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• Streaming: Panthers+; ESPN+
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM/104.3 FM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Betting Odds — Panthers Favored: MoneyLine (-145); Puck Line -1.5 (+160); O/U 5.5 (-115/-105)
• Last Season: Senators won 2-1
• This Season — At Ottawa: Jan. 10; Ap. 9. At Florida: Saturday; March 31
• All-time Regular Season Series: Ottawa leads 59-48-5, 3 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Monday at Philadelphia Flyers, 7

PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS (2-0) LINES

27 Eetu Luostarinen // 15 Anton Lundell // 13 Sam Reinhart

23 Carter Verhaeghe // 9 Sam Bennett // 63 Brad Marchand

11 Mackie Samoskevich // 17 Evan Rodrigues // 70 Jesper Boqvist

10 A.J. Greer // 71 Luke Kunin // 12 Jonah Gadjovich

42 Gus Forsling // 5 Aaron Ekblad

77 Niko Mikkola // 3 Seth Jones

26 Uvis Balinskis // 2 Jeff Petry

72 Sergei Bobrovsky

40 Danill Tarasov

Scratched: Cole Schwindt, Noah Gregor

Injured: Sasha Barkov (knee), Matthew Tkachuk (lower body), Tomas Nosek (knee), Dmitry Kulikov (upper body)

PROJECTED OTTAWA SENATORS (1-0) LINES

7 Brady Tkachuk // 18 Tim Stutzle // 20 Fabian Zetterlund

57 David Perron // 24 Dylan Cozens // 22 Michael Amadio

71 Ridly Greig // 12 Shane Pinto // 28 Claude Giroux

21 Nick Cousins // 89 Lars Eller // 15 Olle Lycksell

85 Jake Sanderson // 2 Artem Zub

72 Thomas Chabot // 3 Nick Jensen

37 Donovan Sebrango // 33 Nikolas Matinpalo

35 Linus Ullmark

1 Leevi Merilainen

Scratched: Jordan Spence, Kurtis MacDermid

Injured: Drake Batherson (undisclosed), Tyler Kleven (undisclosed)