Five takeaways from the Panthers’ 3-2 overtime loss against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night that leaves Florida three points behind the New Jersey Devils, with a game in hand, in the fight for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
u25aa 1. A controversial end: The Panthers, playing the second game of a back-to-back situation, let the Senators hang around for most of the night after the Panthers owned a 2-1 lead through two periods. They wound up in overtime after the Senators tied the game 16 seconds into the third period on some loose play and lost on a penalty shot goal by Senators forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau with 12.