It was the beginning of a four-game homestand for the Cats. Florida top prospect Spencer Knight dressed for his first Panthers NHL game, however he did not play.
Florida(29-12-5) got up 1-0 with 8:20 left in the opening frame. The puck came from behind the cage and Frank Vatrano snapped a shot from the low slot past Elvis Merzlikins for his 16th goal of the season. Vatrano now has three goals in his last four contests.
It became 2-0 for the Panthers just 59 seconds into the second period. Anthony Duclair sent a cross-ice pass from the right circle to the left circle. Jonathan Huberdeau centered it and Sam Bennett put in a wrist shot from the slot area for his first goal in a Panthers uniform. Duclair and Huberdeau were both able to extend their point streaks to four games.
Columbus(15-23-9) closed it to 2-1 with 6:38 to go. Oliver Bjorkstrand fired a forehand shot from the high slot by Sergei Bobrovsky for his 15th goal of the year. Cam Atkinson and Seth Jones were credited with assists on the play.
Florida expanded their lead to 3-1 with 5:57 remaining in the second. Gustav Forsling advanced it from the left wing and Duclair carried the puck around the net to the right goal line. He passed back and Radko Gudas rocketed a one-time slap shot from the top of the zone for his second tally of the campaign. Gudas found the net for second time in the last four contests.
In the third period, the Blue Jackets made it 3-2 at the 8:01 mark. Zac Dalpe poked it in from the blue paint following a mad scramble for the puck.
Columbus pulled their goalie for an attacker with under two minutes to go. Vatrano put in his second goal of the game from the red line and collected his 17th goal this season with 1:22 left.
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