Marchment scores career-high six points, Panthers defeat Blue Jackets
Reinhart has hat trick, Lundell gets five assists for Florida
By
Craig Merz
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
Marchment, who had two goals and four assists, tied the Panthers record for most points in a game. Rookie center Anton Lundell tied their record for assists in a game with five.
"Honestly, I lost count. It was awesome," Marchment said "I'll never forget it."
Sam Reinhart, who plays right wing on the third line with Marchment and Lundell, had a hat trick and an assist for Florida (32-9-5), which has won four straight and six of seven. Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves.
"I think the better we play, the better everybody plays," Reinhart said. "I think we feed off of each other. We seemed to have found some chemistry with each other. It's fun to play when everyone is playing together."
Patrik Laine scored twice for Columbus (20-22-1), which was coming off a 6-3 win at the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday. Elvis Merzlikins allowed seven goals on 25 shots before being replaced at the start of the third period by Joonas Korpisalo, who made 14 saves.
The Blue Jackets also lost to the Panthers 9-2 on Jan. 15.
"The way we managed the puck was so poor," Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. "We talked a lot about just how they're such a dangerous team. They're fast, they're quick in transition and they got guys who can finish. (They're) playing with a ton of confidence, so the last thing you want to do is turn the puck over. You look at a lot of their opportunities and what we were giving up, it was just feeding into them. And, you know, playing on a back-to-back and you're a little bit tired and they're rested, it's a recipe for disaster."
Marchment scored 32 seconds into the first period to give Florida a 1-0 lead.
"My linemates are doing a great job finding me, getting open," he said. "We really enjoy playing together and just want to keep it rolling. It's been so much fun. I'm having a blast."
Reinhart made it 2-0 at 3:23 when he shot into an open net off a backdoor pass from Lundell.
"It was a crazy game," Lundell said. "Everything went our way. We knew where to put the puck. One night that I will remember."
Gustav Nyquist cut it to 2-1 at 4:20 with a deflection, but Aleksander Barkov scored a power-play goal at 11:38 to make it 3-1.
Reinhart then extended the lead to 4-1 at 17:54 with a redirection of a diagonal cross-slot pass from Marchment.
Laine scored with eight seconds left in the period to make it 4-2.
"I think they controlled the game last time, the whole 60 minutes. We didn't have a chance," Laine said. "This game we had some really good moments. They are probably top three in the League. We can't turn the puck over that many times, including myself. They'll make you pay."
Reinhart completed his fifth NHL hat trick after he was left all alone in front to make it 5-2 at 4:27 of the second.
Emil Bemstrom made it 5-3 at 5:34, and Laine cut it to 5-4 at 11:45 following a turnover by Aaron Ekblad. Laine has scored four goals in the past two games.
Owen Tippett then made it 6-4 at 17:07, and MacKenzie Weegar scored 15 seconds later to push the lead to 7-4.
"We clawed our way back into it, and then we were chasing again," Larsen said. "You can't turn the puck over against this team. We hurt ourselves."
Marchment scored on a one-timer 27 seconds into the third period for the 8-4 final.
"He's relentless on the puck. He's slippery," Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said. "Marchment is a unique player with his size and reach."
NOTES: Marchment is tied with Olli Jokinen (March 17, 2007) for the most points in a game in Panthers history. Lundell is tied with Barkov (March 8, 2019) for the most assists in a game. … Marchment, Reinhart and Lundell were each plus-6. … Lundell is the 13th rookie in NHL history and fifth in the past 30 years to have five assists in a game, joining Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders (twice in 2017-18), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Edmonton Oilers (2011-12), Alexandre Picard of the New Jersey Devils (2006-07) and Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins (2006-07). … Blue Jackets forward Eric Robinson did not play after the first period because of a lower-body injury. … Blue Jackets defenseman Jake Bean, who sustained a groin strain against the Canadiens, will be out approximately four weeks. … Florida was 12-2-1 in January, the most wins in a calendar month in its history.
