Panthers Jumped By Blue Jackets

     Mike Hoffman set a Panthers franchise record with a 14-game point streak as Florida lost 7-3 to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Thursday night. He broke the record set by Pavel Bure during the 1999-2000 season. Evgenii Dadonov had his 12-game point streak stopped.
     The Panthers had their five-game winning streak snapped and are now 2-12-1 all-time in Columbus. It was the second game of a six-game road trip for the Cats.
     It took just 1:44 into the first period for Florida(7-6-3) to get on the scoreboard. Nick Bjugstad scored his fourth goal of the season with assists from Mike Matheson and Denis Malgin.
     Hoffman set the team record for a point streak at the 6:45 mark during a power play. Aaron Ekblad put the puck in the net for the second straight game. Hoffman and Matheson were credited with assists on the play.
     The second period would belong to Columbus(11-6-2). Cam Atkinson scored a shorthanded goal from the left circle past Roberto Luongo 28 seconds into the frame. Brandon Dubinsky added a tally on a deflection in the crease at 3:46 and Pierre-Luc Dubois nailed a goal at 6:16.
     The Panthers stopped the Columbus rush with 6:48 to go in the period as Keith Yandle snapped a shot from the top of the zone through traffic for his fourth goal of the campaign. Vincent Trocheck got the primary assist and Jonathan Huberdeau got the secondary assist.
     The Blue Jackets took the lead back 4-3 at 4:01 of the third period. Zac Dalpe carried the puck into the Panthers zone, stopped in the slot area and backhanded it ahead. Markus Hannikainen scored on a spinning forehand shot from the crease.
     Columbus made it a two-goal margin at the 8:59 mark. Anthony Duclair split the defense at the red line on a breakaway. He came in alone and then poked the puck from the crease area. They added another tally to make it 6-3 on a goal by Josh Anderson with 7:03 remaining.
     Florida decided to pull their goalie for an extra attacker with 5:30 to go. It did not work as Boone Jenner scored into an empty net with 5:09 left.