RECAP: Panthers 5, Blue Jackets 4 (OT)

SUNRISE, Fla. – Nothing like a little extra hockey to start a week.

After Nick Cousins found the back of the net with less than a minute left in regulation to force overtime, Carter Verhaeghe scored just 1:26 into the extra frame to lift the Florida Panthers to a heart-pumping 5-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday.

With the win, the Panthers improved to 6-4-1.

“It felt good,” Verhaeghe said. “Definitely nice to get the win. That’s obviously not how we drew it up. We started out good and then kind of let them back in it, but there’s no bad wins.”

Hitting the ground running, the Panthers scored on their first two shots of the game.

After Ryan Lomberg banked in a shot off Elvis Merzlikins from a sharp angle to make it 1-0 at 2:19 of the first period, Gustav Forsling buried a blast from the blue line to make it 2-0 at 3:09.

Coming up big on his bobblehead night just like you knew he would, Aleksander Barkov added to the early advantage for the Panthers when he overpowered two Columbus skaters right outside of the blue paint and tucked a rebound around a sprawled-out Merzlikins to make it 3-0 at 6:09.

After that goal, Spencer Martin took over for Merzlikins.

“I think we were playing fast and getting pucks up quick to our forwards,” Verhaeghe said. “I think we were making plays in the zone and were skating. When we do that, we’re at our best.”

Getting the Blue Jackets on the board, Sean Kuraly pounced on a rebound after a shot from Erik Gudbranson and sent the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky to cut Florida’s lead down to 3-1 at 15:41.

Making it a one-goal game shortly before the first intermission, Boone Jenner flew into the zone and ripped a blistering shot over Bobrovsky’s glove from the right circle to make it 3-2 at 18:51.

Bringing the Blue Jackets all the way back, Kirill Marchenko jammed a rebound through Bobrovsky’s pads on the man advantage to make it 3-3 at 10:02 of the second period.

“Overall, you’re not going to dominate the whole game,” Forsling said. “They probably got yelled at. The coach probably got them fired up so they’d come out hot. But I think we stuck with it.”

Netting their fourth straight goal, the Blue Jackets jumped ahead in the third period when Alexandre Texier knocked in a loose puck from the right of the net to make it 4-3 at 12:30.

With the Panthers pulling their goaltender for the extra attacker, Cousins turned on the heroics when he gloved down an attempted clearing attempt by Columbus, carried the puck into the slot and fired a shot past Martin to bring the fans to their feet and make it 4-4 with 56.4 seconds left.

A valiant effort in relief, Martin made 33 saves.

“It feels great,” Cousins said of his timely tally. “Nice to contribute. I thought, as a line, maybe it wasn’t our best stuff tonight. Nice to get that goal there when our team needed it the most.”

Having come all the way back, why not finish it off?

Coming up in the clutch as he often does, Verhaeghe made sure the Panthers would pick up an important second point when he lined up a rebound after a shot from Anton Lundell and fired the rubber past Martin and into the twine to complete the comeback and lock in the 5-4 win.

“It’s an interesting game,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “Dominant in the first period, for sure. I think where it changes for us is we had three shots blocked in the first and 12 in the second. Part of that is you get all these offensive chances, and we do have some guys squeezing it a little around the net, especially when we stop moving our feet. You start getting those shots blocked and you start to feel the fact you had a 3-0 lead and there’s very little going against you.

“Then you get a little tight, I thought, with the stick like we did. Then you start to see the same breaks. You get 10 that aren’t going and they get one and it’s in the back of your net. They kept going. When the goalie comes out and you get that many chances, sometimes that’s what you need. You need somebody that doesn’t normally get out there to score to come up. We got a break, and it’s in the back of the net. We’re taking it.”

THEY SAID IT

“Nick was described to me by another NHL coach as kind of jackknife. He’ll play all over the lineup, up and down, because he has really, really good hands. He’s got a good sense of the game. He maximizes those things. He’s not the fastest guy in the world, but he gets around the ice. If you can get it on his stick close to the net, he usually makes good on it.” – Paul Maurice on Nick Cousins

“I thought in the first period we came out real strong as a team, and after they switched goalies they kind of turned momentum in their favor. I’ve got to give them credit. They turned the page and took it to us pretty good.” – Nick Cousins on the pushback from Columbus

“It was unbelievable. It’s typical him to get those important goals.” – Gustav Forsling on Nick Cousins’ game-tying goal

CATS STATS

- Niko Mikkola has registered an assist in four of his last five games.

- Carter Verhaeghe has posted three points (one goal, two assists) in his last three games.

- Anton Lundell recorded the 50^th assist of his NHL career.

- Mike Reilly made his Panthers debut.  

- Sam Reinhart notched his sixth multi-point game of the season.

- The Panthers led 92-57 in shot attempts.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Well, it’s time to hit the road again.

After enjoying one game in their own barn, the Panthers will pack their bags and hop another flight to face the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Florida’s first nationally televised game of the season, the action will air on TNT and HBO Max.