National Hockey League
Columbus 3, Florida 2
When: 5:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 7, 2018
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Referees: Jake Brenk, Brad Watson
Linesmen: Shandor Alphonso, Scott Cherrey
Attendance: 16535
Artemi Panarin, Jack Johnson and Josh Anderson scored in an eight-round shootout as the host Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Florida Panthers, 3-2, on Sunday night.

Aleksander Barkov and Mike Matheson scored for the Panthers in the shootout. Barkov also scored with 1:34 left in the third period to help send the game to overtime.

For Columbus, Seth Jones had two assists, and the Jackets' struggling power play produced two goals.

Columbus, which entered the game ranked 31st in the league on its power play, went 2-for-4 with the man advantage.

The Blue Jackets relied on goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who made 42 saves plus six stops in the shootout. Nick Foligno and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored the Columbus goals in regulation as the Blue Jackets (24-16-3) won for just the second time in their past six outings.

Florida (17-18-6) was led by Jonathan Huberdeau, who scored his 15th goal of the season and his sixth in the past seven games.

Goalie James Reimer made 46 saves plus five stops in the shootout, but it wasn't enough as the Panthers lost their third straight game.

Columbus never trailed.

The Jackets converted on their first power play. After Florida's Aaron Ekblad was sent off for slashing Sonny Milano, Foligno followed up Dubois' shot, which was saved by Reimer. That goal gave the Jackets a 1-0 lead with 9:47 elapsed in the first period.

Florida got its opening with just 32 seconds left in the first as Jones was whistled for interference on Evgenii Dadonov.

The power play didn't click until 31 seconds had expired in the second period as Barkov stole the puck in the right corner and shoveled to Dadonov, whose pass to Huberdeau was redirected for the tying goal.

Columbus took a 2-1 lead on a Dubois power-play goal with 17:49 left in the second period. The Panthers killed off the first part of a five-on-three disadvantage, but Dubois scored from below the right circle.

Florida's tying goal featured some good fortune for the Panthers as a cross-ice pass deflected off the skates of Foligno and bounced right to Barkov, who scored from the doorstep.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Florida   Columbus
Aleksander Barkov 2 Points Pierre-Luc Dubois 2
Aleksander Barkov 1 Goals Pierre-Luc Dubois 1
Aleksander Barkov 1 Assists Seth Jones 2
Jonathan Huberdeau 1 Power Play Goals Pierre-Luc Dubois 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
James Reimer .958 Save Percentage Sergei Bobrovsky .955
James Reimer 46 Saves Sergei Bobrovsky 42
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Florida 44 2 1-3 2-4 10 45
Columbus 48 3 2-4 2-3 8 32
Upcoming Games
  • Columbus will play their next game on the road against Toronto. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .542 after a win and .579 after a loss.
  • Florida will play their next game on the road against St. Louis. The Panthers have a W/L % of .412 after a win and .417 after a loss.