Bobrovsky gets 1st shutout of season for Panthers against Blue Jackets

Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves for his first shutout of the season when the Florida Panthers defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0 at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Tuesday.

The shutout was Bobrovsky's 38th in the NHL and his first since March 31, 2022.
"I felt good," Bobrovsky said. "It's a big, big two points for us. It's a big game, and I thought the guys did a great job. They shut them down. They didn't give them anything."

Sam Reinhart had a goal and two assists, and Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk each had a goal and an assist for the Panthers (14-12-4), who had lost two in a row. Gustav Forsling had two assists.
The line of Reinhart, Barkov and Tkachuk was a combined plus-11.
"We didn't do anything special," Reinhart said. "I think us and our whole group really focused on the defensive side of the puck. When the offense opens up, it's easier to attack it from the defensive side of it. We had some success with it."

Elvis Merzlikins made 22 saves for the Blue Jackets (10-16-2), who won their previous two games.
"It's all about putting the puck in the back of the net," Columbus forward Sean Kuraly said. "When you don't do that, it's going to make it tough. It's a good team. They finished their chances and there's some we would have liked to have tonight."
Brandon Montour gave Florida a 1-0 lead at 9:04 of the first period with a shot from the top of left face-off circle with Tkachuk screening Merzlikins.
Tkachuk made it 2-0 at 3:47 of the second period with a shot from close range after taking a feed from Reinhart.
Barkov extended the lead to 3-0 at 19:16 on a rebound.
"We had two solid periods," Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. "The first was really good. The second they had a few looks with their power play and stuff, but there wasn't a lot. It's tough to come out of those two periods down 3-0, let's put it that way."

Reinhart scored an empty-net goal at 18:14 of the third period for the 4-0 final.
"It's always nice to get a shutout," Barkov said. "It's nice for the goalie and it's nice for us too that we were able to play well defensively and not to let them do that much in our zone. I think overall it was a good game by us."
NOTES: Larsen was behind the bench after flying into South Florida on Tuesday afternoon. He missed the Blue Jackets' flight because of a non-COVID illness. … Forward Carter Verhaeghe (illness) was a late scratch for the Panthers, who then lost forwards Colin White and Chris Tierney to upper-body injuries as the result of open-ice collisions before the end of the second period. Florida coach Paul Maurice said after the game both injuries are likely worse than day-to-day issues. … Tkachuk has scored in eight straight games against Columbus, the longest active goal streak in the NHL against one team. … The Blue Jackets were shut out for the second time this season. The first was a 4-0 loss to Boston Bruins on Oct. 28. … Columbus forward Patrik Laine had his three-game goal streak end.