RECAP: Panthers 4, Blue Jackets 3

COLUMBUS, OH – Spencer Knight made 35 saves – including a game-saving stop late in regulation – to lead the Florida Panthers to a 4-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.

Capping off their four-game road trip with back-to-back wins, the Panthers are heading home sitting at 3-2-0 in the standings.

“This is a huge game for him,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of Knight, who earned his first win of the season. “We didn't have much in the tank. They've got some firepower there. They can make some plays, for sure. Our goaltender was the key piece for us tonight."

Celebrating the life of the late Johnny Gaudreau, the Blue Jackets held a touching tribute prior to puck drop against the Panthers, one that included raising his No. 13 into the rafters.

Once the game got underway, the Blue Jackets also took the ice without a left winger, a spot that usually would’ve been occupied by Gaudreau. After that, both teams stayed still and let a fitting 13 seconds run off the clock before Columbus got back to full strength.

“I’ve always known this game was going to come up,” said Adam Boqvist, a teammate of Gaudreau’s in Columbus for three seasons before he joined the Panthers this past summer. “It’s not that you expect something, but when I saw [his wife] Meredith and the kids, my old teammates out there, it was pretty hard actually. I’m not going to lie. I think they did a beautiful ceremony. Johnny is one of the best teammates I’ve ever had.”

While it was certainly difficult for both sides, a hockey game still had to be played.

With both teams taking a bit to get up to speed – as expected – the first period came and went with no goals for either side.

On the penalty kill, the Blue Jackets broke the ice just 41 seconds into the second period when Cole Sillinger cashed in on a shorthanded breakaway to make it 1-0 at 0:41. Keeping the deficit at just one goal, Knight made several key stops for Florida soon after.

Lending his goaltender a hand, Boqvist also broke up a 2-on-1 rush by the Blue Jackets.

Fresh off scoring a pair of goals in Monday’s win at Boston, Anton Lundell stayed hot when he took a pass from Sam Reinhart -- who made a great play to settle down a flying puck --and fired a quick shot past Elvis Merzlikins from the right circle to make it 1-1 at 10:25.

From there, the goals started to flow.

After Sean Monahan pounded his own rebound through Knight’s pads to put the Blue Jackets up 2-1 at 11:22, Dmitry Kulikov responded for the Panthers just 37 seconds later when he buried a long shot from just below the blue to make it 2-2 at 11:59.

“It’s pretty nice,” Kulikov said of netting a goal early in the season. “It was kind of a lucky bounce. The shot was going to slow and the goalie kind of lost it. But yeah, it feels good.”

Beating the buzzer to put the Panthers on top heading into the second intermission, Reinhart took a pass from Carter Verhaeghe and beat Merzlikins with a quick wrist shot from the slot with less than a second left on the clock to make it 3-2.

Picking up right where he left off after scoring a career-high 57 goals in 2023-24, Reinhart has already found the back of the net four times through the first four games of this season.

With under six minutes left, Knight stoned Monahan on a point-blank shot from the slot.

Netting what would go on to hold up as the game-winning goal soon after, Eetu Luostarinen took a pass from Reinhart, who racked up a game-high three points, shrugged off a defender and scored to make it 4-2 at 15:12.

Getting the Blue Jackets back within striking distance after Merzlikins headed to the bench for the extra attacker, James van Riemsdyk cut the deficit to 4-3 when he got a piece of a shot through traffic and sent it into the cage at 17:21.

With time running out, Knight made his biggest stop of the game when he robbed Yegor Chinakhov on what looked like a surefire goal from the right side of the net. On the save, Knight went from right to left in the blink of an eye to get a piece of his glove on the puck.

“That save was unreal,” Luostarinen said.

From there, the Panthers held on to secure the two points.

Heading home in good spirits, they're starting to pick up some early-season steam.

“It’s huge to close to close this one out here and get a good feeling tonight and on the flight back,” Boqvist said. “I think we have a few more levels to get to, obviously. But two points is two points. You’ve just got to move on.”

THEY SAID IT

“It’s funny because you’d love to just play them, except he scored 57 goals with the other guys. That’s not too bad. But man, the three of them are so good together.” – Paul Maurice on the Sam Reinhart playing with Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen

“Today, Spencer played unreal. It’s always nice when you’re a D-man and the goalie can [help] you if something happens. We’re fortunate to have two good goalies here.” – Adam Boqvist on Spencer Knight’s performance

“We got better as the game went on. I think we started this trip a little slow and not [playing] our game. I think we just got better as the road trip went on.” – Eetu Luostarinen

“Today was an emotional night. I think we’re happy as a group to go back to Florida with some points in our bank.” – Dmitry Kulikov on ending the road trip with back-to-back wins

CATS STATS

- Sam Reinhart recorded his 69^th multi-point game as a member of the Panthers, moving him past Pavel Bure (68) for the seventh most in franchise history.

- Niko Mikkola blocked a team-high four shots.

- Eetu Luostarinen was tied for the team-lead with a +3 plus/minus rating in the win.

- Spencer Knight made seven high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

- The Panthers went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Panthers are finally coming home!

Kicking off a three-game homestand, they'll host the Vancouver Canucks at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.

For tickets, click HERE.