Carter Verhaeghe scored two points during the Florida Panthers’ 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. The forward scored a goal and an assist but it was his hit on defenseman Artem Zub that grabbed the headlines.
With 68 seconds left in the second period, Zub was crashed into the boards by Verhaeghe with a crosscheck from the back. A scrum ensued with Senators player charging Verhaeghe. He was adjudged a minor and the ruling on-ice stayed even after a review.
Hockey Night in Canada analysts Jennifer Botterill, Kelly Hrudey and Kevin Bieksa disputed the call, feeling that the referees should have given the Panthers forward a harsher penalty.
“In Ottawa, they make it close in the end, but the power play for Florida was good,” Botteril said. “There was one sort of key moment in the game. This was a very hard hit by Verhaeghe on Zub with one minute left in the second period. At this point, it’s a 2-1 game.
“So they review it and Verhaeghe only assessed a 2-minute minor for boarding. Guys, I don’t know your take. I thought it should have been more—the distance from the boards, the follow-through by Verhaeghe. Fans were upset and I think rightly so; it could have been a significant point in the game that was very close.”
“I agree with you,” Hrudey followed. “It should have been more than that for sure.”
“Agree, Bieska concluded. “I wasn’t watching, but it looked just from that—pretty vicious.”
The Panthers consolidated their lead with a third goal 3:48 into the third period through Gustav Forsling. Drake Batherson pulled one back in the dying seconds for Ottawa but the defending champions held on for the win.
Tough night for Artem Zub in Senators’ loss to Panthers
The Senators took the lead at 4:03 in the first period through a Fabian Zetterlund goal. Five minutes later, however, Artem Zub took a minor penalty for high sticking Sam Reinhart. Evan Rodrigues scored for Florida on the power play just a second before their man advantage ended.
With three minutes left in the period, Zub blocked a shot from Anton Lundell. With the puck in Florida’s offensive zone, the 30-year-old was handed another minor penalty, this time for interference on Eetu Luostarinen.
Zub has scored 13 points in 43 games in 2025-26, matching his tally from last season. But he has already notched up 32 penalty in minutes. In the last three seasons, Zub had averaged 35 penalty in minutes in the entire campaign.
Edited by R. Nikhil Parshy
