5 Takeaways: Goalies 'Put on a Show' as Panthers Defeat Blue Jackets

These are the types of battles that goaltenders live for.
Matching highlight reel saves with his former protégé all night long, "unbelievable" and "amazing" were just a few adjectives teammates used to describe Sergei Bobrovsky after he recorded 38 saves to backstop the Panthers to an exhilarating 4-2 win over the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.

At the other end of the ice, Joonas Korpisalo stopped 29 of 32 shots for Columbus.
"I think we put on a show today," Bobrovsky said of the goalie duel. "He made two unbelievable saves. Everybody in the building thought they went in, but he somehow kept them out. It definitely gives you energy, gives you a little bit extra kind of motivation to compete. I thought it was a great performance."
After the top line wore the Blue Jackets down with a monster shift to start the game, it was the fourth line that actually opened the scoring for the Panthers tonight. Skating into the center of the left circle, Juho Lammikko slipped a backhand shot under Korpisalo's pads to make it 1-0 at 4:59 of the first period.
Extending the lead in the second period, Aaron Ekblad blasted a shot on the power play that caught a piece of Patric Hornqvist before floating into the back of the cage to make it a 2-0 game at 2:45. Just three minutes later, however, Michael Del Zotto scored to trim Columbus' deficit down to 2-1 at 5:45.
Notching the first power-play goal of his career, Owen Tippett then regained the two-goal lead for the Cats when he wired home a wrist shot on the man advantage to make it 3-1 with 1:48 left in the second.
"A timely power play today, getting the last couple," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said.
With both teams trading chances in the third period, Oliver Bjorkstrand eventually broke through for the Blue Jackets when he tipped a pass into the net to slice Florida's lead down to 3-2 at 11:37. Then, with 3:01 left on the clock, Columbus was sent to the power play, but held in check by the Cats penalty kill.
Following that big kill, Carter Verhaeghe iced the game with an empty-netter to make it 4-2 at 19:37.

"It was a good game," Bobrovsky said. "I faced lots of shots and I thought the guys helped me a lot there. I know that Columbus is a really good, hard-working team. They're going to put the puck on the net and work around the net. It was a great battle. I thought Korpi made great saves there. It was fun."
Improving to 16-5-4, the Panthers have now picked up six out of a possible eight points through the first four games of their road trip, which they'll wrap up with a rematch against the Blue Jackets on Thursday.
Here are five takeaways from Tuesday's win in Columbus…

1. CO-LAMM-BUS

Lammikko got the party started in Columbus.
Just a few minutes after Korpisalo made an incredible diving save on Aleksander Barkov with his paddle, Lammikko fooled the opposing goaltender with a much less threatening shot. Catching Korpisalo off his guard, he simply slipped a backhand shot under his pads to make it 1-0 just 4:59 into the opening frame.

"A nice pass by Weegs [MacKenzie Weegar]," Lammikko said. "I just tried to hit the net because Lomby [Ryan Lomberg] and Acch [Noel Acciari] were coming toward the net. I just tried to get the puck to the net, and it went in."
Carving out a role for himself as Florida's fourth-line center, Lammikko has proven he can put the biscuit in the back of the net when he needs to. Averaging 10:11 of ice time during the 19 games he's played in this season, the 25-year-old has accumulated three goals while also registering 15 hits and eight blocks.
"It's big to get the first goal and it's good to play with leads," Lammikko said. "I think we've fallen behind a couple times, but we always power back. But it's better to get the first one, of course."

2. THE HAND OF HORNQVIST

When Hornqvist is in front of the net, the Panthers know to just fire the puck.
Planting his skates outside the blue paint, the hard-nosed Swede had a shot from Ekblad bounce off his body and into the twine on the power play to extend Florida's lead to 2-1 at 2:45 of the second period.

"It hit me on the hand," Hornqvist said of the scoring sequence. "I was lucky on that one. Good job by all the power-play guys moving the puck around, and Ekkie shooting at the right time. We'll take it."
Moving into a tie with Jonathan Huberdeau for the most goals on the team with 10, Hornqvist also leads the team in goals on the power play (6). In the midst of his first season with the Panthers, the 34-year-old veteran has been doing a lot of damage from around the net, producing 21 points through 25 games.

3. GRIP IT THEN TIPPETT

After spending some time on the Taxi Squad, Tippett made an impact in his return to the lineup.
Providing the Panthers with a much-needed insurance goal late in the second period, the rookie forward ripped a wicked wrist shot from beyond the right circle straight past Korpisalo - who was screened by Mason Marchment - and into the twine at 18:12 to make it a 3-1 game going into the final intermission.

"Nice to see Tippy score on the power play," Quenneville said.
In 16 games this season, Tippet has registered four points (two goals, two assists). His goal tonight, however, was the first time he's scored in the NHL with the extra attacker on the ice. No stranger to lighting the lamp, he led Florida's AHL affiliate with 19 goals in 46 games during the 2019-20 season.

4. BOB COMES UP BIG

Bobrovsky was tested early and often, but he never wavered.
Making a season-high 38 saves, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner stopped 14 shots in the third period alone to make sure the Panthers would hold on and pick up two points. Calm under pressure, six of his saves came on the penalty kill, while seven originated from high-danger areas, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
Oddly enough, however, his biggest save came while on the power play. With the Panthers on the man advantage as the midway point of the first period approached, Cam Atkinson, who leads the NHL with four shorthanded tallies, was sent flying on a breakaway, but denied by a big pad save from Bobrovsky.

"I like the way he's progressing here over this stretch of games," Quenneville said. "That was his best."
Sitting at 9-2-2 on the season, Bobrovsky has clearly settled into an effective rhythm in recent weeks, posting a 4-0-1 record while stopping 164 of 177 shots for a .927 save percentage in his last five starts.
"I feel great," Bobrovsky said. "The last 5-6 games, I've felt unreal. I've felt focused, I've felt strong and I've felt confident. It's fun to be around and be a part of this team. They play great hockey. Everybody delivers every night… We all pull the rope in the same direction. It's definitely fun to be a part of it."

5. NUTIVAARA BACK IN ACTION

You knew there was no way Nutivaara was going to miss this one.
After sitting out the last 12 games while nursing an upper-body injury, the 26-year-old defenseman returned to action just in time to face his former team tonight. Acquired by the Panthers in a trade during the offseason, he spent the first four seasons of his career lacing up his skates in Columbus.
Easing back in work, he recorded one blocked shot over 12:15 of ice time.
"He didn't play a lot, but he did his thing," Quenneville said. "I thought he moved well."
Since no fans were allowed in the building during their two previous meetings with the Panthers in Columbus back in January, the Blue Jackets were also finally able to show their "welcome back" video - which you can find in the tweet below - for Nutivaara, Alex Wennberg and General Manager Bill Zito in the first period.

"My first four years here, it never goes away," Nutivaara said. "I'll always remember it. It felt nice."