Columbus 4, Florida 0
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 22, 2018
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Referees:
Brian Pochmara, Eric Furlatt
Linesmen:
Ryan Daisy, Steve Miller
Attendance:
16919
By Field Level Media
Sergei Bobrovsky earned a shutout as the Columbus Blue Jackets, who scored three goals in less than five minutes in the second period, won their 10th straight game, defeating the Florida Panthers 4-0 on Thursday night at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Columbus' win streak is the second-longest in franchise history. With the victory, the Jackets tied the idle Pittsburgh Penguins in points (89) as they battle for second place in the Metropolitan Division. The Penguins have one game in hand.
Cam Atkinson, Sonny Milano and Seth Jones scored in the second when Columbus broke open a scoreless game. Jones, an All-Star defenseman this year and the fourth overall pick in 2013, was making his return to the lineup after missing two games due to an upper-body injury.
Thomas Vanek added an empty-net goal with 2:25 left in the third period. Bobrovsky made 33 saves to earn the win. He is 9-1-0 since Feb. 24.
Florida goalie Roberto Luongo (29 saves) took the loss as the Panthers cooled off. Since Jan. 30, the Panthers are 18-6-1, and trail the idle New Jersey Devils (82 points) by one point in the battle for the last Eastern Conference wild-card playoff berth. The Panthers have one game in hand on the Devils.
Columbus' streak of scoring in 13 consecutive first periods ended on Thursday. The Panthers had a 14-11 edge on shots and won 69 percent of the face-offs but couldn't convert on the only power play of the period.
The Jackets got on the board with just 59 seconds gone in the second period. Artemi Panarin forced a turnover in the neutral zone, skated around a defender and passed on the left wing to Atkinson, whose one-timer found a wide-open left side of the net.
Columbus extended its lead to 2-0 with 3:20 expired in the second. Milano raced in off the bench, right down the middle of Florida's defense. He took a pass from Matt Calvert and one-timed a high shot that beat Luongo's glove.
The Jackets' flurry ended with a power-play goal by Jones with 5:42 elapsed in the second. With a screen set on Luongo, Jones hammered a slap shot that went in off a Panthers defender. Jones' one-timer was set up by a pass from Atkinson.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Florida |
|
Columbus |
|
N/A |
Points |
Cam Atkinson 2 |
|
N/A |
Goals |
Cam Atkinson 1 |
|
N/A |
Assists |
Pierre-Luc Dubois 2 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Seth Jones 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Roberto Luongo .906 |
Save Percentage |
Sergei Bobrovsky 1.000 |
|
Roberto Luongo 29 |
Saves |
Sergei Bobrovsky 33 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Florida
|
33 |
0 |
0-4 |
2-3 |
8 |
31 |
| Columbus
|
33 |
4 |
1-3 |
4-4 |
10 |
27 |
Upcoming Games
-
Columbus will play their next game at home against St. Louis. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .595 after a win and .515 after a loss.
-
Florida will play their next game at home against Arizona. The Panthers have a W/L % of .514 after a win and .514 after a loss.