Panthers Power By Blue Jackets

     The Florida Panthers moved by the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 on Saturday night at BB&T Center. It was the first time that Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky faced his former team. Aleksi Saarela made his NHL debut with Florida. Parkland native and Blue Jackets defenseman Andrew Peeke played in his second NHL game.
     Florida(14-9-5) got on the scoreboard 18 seconds into the first period for a 1-0 lead. The puck went around the boards and Keith Yandle blasted a one-time slap shot from the left point. It was deflected by Aleksander Barkov in the slot area and then redirected by Evgenii Dadonov in the crease area for his 11th goal of the season.
     In the second period, the Panthers made it 2-0 at the 8:53 mark. Barkov waited with the puck on the left-wing boards. He connected a cross-ice pass through the low slot and Josh Brown snapped a shot by Elvis Merzlikins for his second goal of the campaign. Jonathan Huberdeau was credited with the secondary assist on the play.
     Columbus(11-14-4) surrendered a power-play goal at 6:09 of the third period. Mike Hoffman passed it from the right-wing wall to Keith Yandle on the right point. His slap shot was deflected by Brett Connolly in the top of the crease for his team-high 13rd goal of the year.
     The Blue Jackets broke the shutout with 9:26 left in the frame and they trailed 3-1. Alexandre Tesier curled in the right circle and sent the puck to Vladislav Gavrikov at the top of the zone. He fired a slap shot that went through traffic and past Bobrovsky
     Columbus pulled their goalie with under three minutes to go. It did not work as Hoffman backhanded a shot from the red line into an empty net with 2:23 left.