5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers 4, Blue Jackets 0

SUNRISE, Fla. -- With their top line clicking and Sergei Bobrovsky stopping all 22 shots he faced, the Florida Panthers locked down a 4-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at FLA Live Arena on Tuesday.
With the win, Florida improved to 14-12-4.
"Bob's game was real important," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "I know he didn't get a lot of action, but early in that game in the first period they had two or three good looks at the net, and he was important. When we got our feet under us, we were pretty good after the first."
For a quick recap of the game, click
HERE
.
To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. MONTY OPENS IT UP

Elvis Merzlikins never saw this one coming.
Recognizing the Blue Jackets goaltender was blinded by a screen from Matthew Tkachuk, Brandon Montour locked, loaded and blasted a slap shot from the top of the left circle into the back of the net to give the Panthers an important early 1-0 lead at 9:04 of the first period.

"The start of it gets you a good feeling," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said when asked about scoring first. "By the time we got to the second period, we were a pretty good team."
Poised to blow past the career-high 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) he posted in 2021-22, Montour has been finding his way onto the scoresheet consistently this season. Leading Florida's defensemen in scoring, he's already recorded 23 points (six goals, 17 assists).
Montour's goal against Columbus marked the 19th time Florida has scored first this season.

2. FORSLING'S MILESTONE

Make it triple digits for Gustav Forsling!
With the primary assist on Montour's opening tally, the smooth-skating Swede recorded the 100th point of his NHL career. Not done there, he then got a head start on his quest for 200 when he tallied an assist on Barkov's goal in the second period to push his point total to 101.

One of the best waiver claims in the NHL in recent seasons, Forsling has logged 74 points (19 goals, 55 assists) over 144 since being claimed by Florida on the eve of the 2020-21 season.
In 30 games this season, the 26-year-old has tallied four goals and 16 assists.
"That story's impressive," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said of Forsling. "Picked up from waivers and now he's a top defenseman. He's a really good leader and role model for this team. He works really hard. Every year, he's the most fit guy when he comes here. With his work ethic and dedication to this game, it's no surprise he got to this point. This is just the beginning."

3. CHALK UP MORE FOR CHUKY

Chalk up more points for Tkachuk.
Earning his 14th multi-point game of the season, the bona fide star recorded two points against the Blue Jackets, including scoring a goal to put the Panthers on top 2-0 in the second period.

With several players out of the lineup due to illness and injury, Tkachuk found plenty of success playing on a new line with Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart against Columbus. In the win, those three players combined to produce three goals, four assists and an impressive +11 rating.
Overall, Florida owned a 64% share of shot attempts at 5-on-5 when that line was deployed.
"We needed it with [Carter] Verhaeghe being out, and then especially when you lose two guys in the game and get down to 10 forwards," Maurice said. "Those guys were special. We needed that leadership. I thought [Aaron] Ekblad as well on the back end had a very, very strong game."
Capping off a three-point performance, Reinhart iced the game away with a late empty-netter.
"It was fun," Reinhart said. "We didn't do anything special. We kept things simple. I think us and our whole group really focused on the defensive side of the puck. When that offense opens up, it's easier attacking from the defensive side of it. We had some success with it."

4. BOB'S CLEAN SHEET

Just because he only saw 22 shots on goal doesn't mean Bobrovsky wasn't busy.
Helping settle things down for the Panthers early on in an important game, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner's biggest sequence came less than five minutes into the first period when he made several saves in the blue paint as the Blue Jackets tried to jam the puck past him.
"That's definitely a big moment, especially when the score is 0-0," Bobrovsky said of facing that onslaught. "If that breaks the score, that's a big point going forward. It's nice to get those saves."
Overall, Bobrovsky made five high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
Starting each of the last four games, he's gone 2-2-0 with a .919 save percentage in that span.
"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 very much."

5. BATTLING ADVERSITY

The injury list keeps getting longer for the Panthers.
Already starting without Verhaeghe (illness), Anton Lundell (illness), Spencer Knight (illness), Patric Hornqvist (upper body) and Radko Gudas (upper body), the Panthers lost both Colin White and Chris Tierney to upper-body injuries over the course of the game against the Blue Jackets.
"I don't think anything catastrophic, but maybe longer than day-to-day on both," Maurice said of White and Tierney's injuries after the game.
In terms of good news, both Gudas and Knight took part in morning skate prior to the matchup. Wearing a yellow no-contact jersey, Gudas was bringing his usual energy and enthusiasm to the ice, while Knight faced shots for the first time since Dec. 6 against the Winnipeg Jets.
"He's such a big part of the group and most of the humor and a lot of the other things that are good about these guys," Maurice said of Gudas. "It's great to have him back out there."
Stay tuned to FloridaPanthers.com for future updates on all injuries.