COLUMBUS – If you like goalie battles and playoff-style hockey, this was the game for you.
Backstopping the Florida Panthers to two huge points, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all 25 shots he faced in a 1-0 overtime win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Thursday.
Besting his former team again, Bobrovsky also blanked the Blue Jackets in a 3-0 win on March 6.
“He kept us in the game and gave us the chance,” Aleksander Barkov said of Bobrovsky.
Improving to 42-24-3, the Panthers continue to lead the Atlantic Division.
“Credit to Columbus, they have one of the best home records in the league and one of the highest scoring teams in the league,” said head coach Paul Maurice.
Despite a scoreless first period, Florida left the ice feeling pretty good about its play.
Flying out of the gate and setting the tone, the line of Carter Verhaeghe, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart had a 100% offensive advantage in the first period, helping the Panthers lead 5-0 in shots on goal and 4-0 in scoring chances at 5-on-5 over their ice time, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
Overall, Florida led 13-5 in shots on goal after 20 minutes.
“We fought hard,” said Barkov. “We supported each other. Tried to make those little plays in the zone and not be too far away from each other.”
Tested early on special teams, the penalty kill kept the game scoreless early after Barkov went to the box on a tripping call.
Getting another test, James van Riemsdyk found himself on a breakaway late in the first period, but rang the post to keep the score tied at zero.
While it was the Panthers that controlled the first period, the Blue Jackets flipped the script for the majority of the second period.
Standing tall in net while facing an array of shots and pressure, Bobrovsky stopped all 12 shots in the period to keep the Panthers in position to strike.
On fire, Bobrovsky now sits at 11-4-0 over his last 15 appearances.
“It was a good game,” said Bobrovsky. “It was a playoff style game. We played hard and played a good game.”
Switching the momentum towards the end of the period, the Panthers went on the man advantage, but were unable to cash in after a few close chances.
Looking like the tie was broken halfway into the third by Columbus, the refs ruled that the puck was kicked in by Boone Jenner and the game remained scoreless.
Stepping up big once again while on the penalty kill, the Panthers withstood the Blue Jackets power play at 12:25 into the period.
Earning a penalty in the final minute of regulation after Kirill Marchenko sent the puck over the glass for a delay-of-game penalty, the Panthers eventually carried that extra attacker in overtime.
