Tim Stutzle had the on-ice answer Wednesday night. His personal chef handled the postgame needle.
Brady Tkachuk made his return to Ottawa for the first time since the Senators traded him to the Florida Panthers in June, and the night started with a little pregame buzz after Stutzle said he skipped dinner with his former teammate. The Ottawa center pointed out that he already has a personal chef, so going out for a meal wasn’t necessary.
Then Michael Hauschild jumped into the mix on social media and took a shot of his own.
Tagging Tkachuk on his Instagram story, Hauschild wrote, "You should have had me cook for you too."
The joke landed just fine for Senators fans, especially after Ottawa backed it up with a 5-1 win over Florida. Tkachuk opened the scoring for the Panthers in the first period, but that was the end of the offense for Florida. Ottawa ripped off five straight goals from there, and Stutzle finished with a goal and an assist.
Through Thursday, Florida sat at 5-3-2 while Ottawa had climbed to 7-3. For a team that moved on from the former face of the franchise, the Senators have come out flying.
Stutzle has been right in the middle of it. Entering Thursday, he was tied for 13th in the NHL in goals with six and tied for 18th in assists with eight. If Hauschild’s meal prep keeps producing nights like this, the Senators probably won’t be changing dinner plans any time soon.
In Other News...
Panthers Loss Put A Harsh Spotlight On Florida's Goalie Situation
A rough night in Pittsburgh did more than add another loss to Floridas ledger, it put the Panthers crease picture right under the microscope. Arturs Silovs stopped 25 shots for a shutout as the Penguins rolled to a 4-0 win, while Floridas Cooper Black made his NHL debut and handled 18 saves in a game that quickly became more notable for what it said about the Panthers current goalie depth than for the final score.
Blacks arrival comes with Jacob Markstrom sidelined by a shoulder injury, which forced Florida to reach for help in a hurry. Against a Penguins lineup that got two goals from Nick Robertson and added production from Hendrix Lapierre and Evgeni Malkin, the Panthers at least got a look at where their emergency plan stands, even if the broader answer in net is still very much unsettled. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Just Raised A Bigger Road Concern In Ottawa
A trip to Ottawa was supposed to be a chance for Florida to keep building on a three-game winning streak, but it instead exposed a road issue the Panthers will have to sort out quickly. Brady Tkachuk did give Florida the opening goal and extended his point streak to five games, yet the Panthers could not do much else offensively, finishing with just 18 shots and going 0-for-4 on the power play as the Senators controlled the rest of the night.
Tim Sttzle and Stephen Halliday each finished with a goal and an assist, while Jake Sanderson helped drive Ottawas attack with two assists in the win that snapped Floridas run. For a Panthers team that has been trying to find more consistency away from home, the concern is less about one bad night and more about how quickly the game slipped out of reach after that early lead. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Loss Put One Frustrating Question On Floridas Defense
The Panthers came out of their loss with one lingering question on the blue line: where the defensive support really came from when the game tightened up. Jordan Spence logged nearly 19 minutes, chipped in two shots and two hits, and helped create a scoring chance, while Nikolas Matinpalo absorbed plenty of physical play and still found a way to stay involved in the action. Carter Yakemchuk had a rougher night defending, though he did manage four blocks in a game where the margins kept shrinking.
Nikolas Matinpalo also got caught with a high-sticking penalty, a reminder of how thin the line was for Florida on a night when every shift seemed to matter. The goaltending side gave the Panthers some stability, with Linus Ullmark in good position and making key saves despite dealing with a lower-body strain, but the broader issue remained whether the defense in front of him could do enough to keep games from slipping into the kind of late scramble that tests a teams structure. [Read more 🡒]