Aleksander Barkov scored the game’s only goal 29 seconds into overtime and Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves in the Florida Panthers 1-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.
Barkov took advantage of a late delaying the game penalty on Kirill Marchenko that carried over into the extra session, sniping Elvis Merzlikins from the high slot with the assists going to Seth Jones and Sam Reinhart.
The primary assist was Jones’ second point as a Panther and the secondary helper was Reinhart’s 40th assist of the season.
Bobrovsky earned First Star honors against his former team. The veteran keeper has posted three shutouts in his last seven starts, giving him five on the season and 49 for his career. With his next shutout, he will join Evgeni Nabokov as the second Russian goalie to hit 50 shutouts in the NHL.
Columbus’ Boone Jenner had a goal overturned midway through the third after video review correctly determined he kicked the puck into the net.
By nipping the desperate Blue Jackets, the Panthers remained tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for first place in the Atlantic Division, and two points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Florida holds the RW tiebreaker over both teams.
Next up for the Cats is visit to the nation’s capital to take on Alex Ovechkin and league-leading Washington, who became the first team in the league to hit 100 points with a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers last night.
Cuffs & Buttons
- Aleksander Barkov’s tenth career overtime goal tied Olli Jokinen for the most in franchise history. Barkov was credited with two shots, two hits, a block and won 66.7% of his faceoffs.
- The shutout was Sergei Bobrovsky’s third straight against the Blue Jackets dating back to April 11, 2024. He has now blanked Columbus four times in his career.
- Mackie Samoskevich had a team-high five hits and matched Carter Verhaeghe with a team-best four shots on goal.
- Elvis Merzlikins did his best to end the Blue Jackets’ losing streak, finishing with 27 saves, including 13 in the first period.
- Tagging in for the injured Dmitry Kulikov, Tobias Björnfot blocked three shots and had a hit while playing 16:47.
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