Panthers Defeat Blue Jackets for Fifth Straight Win, Bobrovsky Moves to 10th in All-Time Wins
SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers extended its win streak to five games on Thursday night after taking down the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0 at Amerant Bank Arena.
Sergei Bobrovsky had 16 saves in a shutout performance to pick up his 27th win of the season and 423rd of his career, tying Tony Esposito for 10th most wins in NHL history.
The Panthers improved to 39-21-3 on the season and took over sole possession of first in the Atlantic Division
Despite the result, Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins played a great game, stopping 33 of 35 shots faced in the loss.
On the Panthers second power-play of the game, Sam Reinhart opened the scoring 5:58 into the first with his team-leading 32nd goal of the season, snapping an eight-game goal drought.
Reinhart’s 10 power-play goals is second most on the Panthers, trailing only Matthew Tkachuk (11). With that, he became the fifth player in NHL history with consecutive seasons of 5-plus shorthanded goals, 10-plus power play goals, and 15-plus even strength goals. The other four are all in the Hall of Fame: (Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman).
The 29-year-old leads the Panthers in scoring with 67 points (32 goals, 35 assists) in 63 games this season. He finished the night with three points (1 goal, 2 assists).
Mackie Samoskevich also found the back of the net on the power play 6:33 into the second, scoring his 11th goal of the season to put the Panthers up 2-0.
Samoskevich is one of 10 rookies to have at least 10 goals in the NHL this season.
After going a perfect seven-for-seven on the penalty kill last game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Panthers PK unit had another great night, killing off all four Blue Jackets power plays.
They are 17-for-18 on the PK out of the 4 Nations break.
Aleksander Barkov iced the game with an empty net goal, matching Reinhart with a three-point performance (1 goal, 2 assists).
The Panthers will look to extend its win streak to six games on Saturday night as they host the Buffalo Sabres in Sunrise.
PANTHERS NOTES
Florida made two trades on Thursday, acquiring forward Nico Sturm and a 2027 seventh-round pick, from the Sharks in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick.
Sturm is expected to be a fourth-line center option, a role which Tomas Nosek currently holds.
The Panthers also made an AHL goalie swap with the Winnipeg Jets, sending Chris Driedger to his hometown team for Kaapo Kahkonen.
Driedger backed up Bobrovsky on Monday after the Panthers sent Spencer Knight to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Seth Jones trade.
The NHL trade deadline is Friday, March 7 at 3 p.m. ET.
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