*Photo from Jackets Cannon*
Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky got to play the team he left in free agency two years ago, the Columbus Blue Jackets. He sure played like a man on a mission. Bobrovsky stopped 38 shots, the power play converted twice, and the Panthers topped the Blue Jackets with a 4-2 win on Tuesday night.
4:59 into the first period, Juho Lammikko got the Panthers on the board with his 3rd goal of the season, making it 1-0 early on. In the second period, Patric Hornqvist and Owen Tippett scored on the power play for the Panthers, while Michael Del Zotto added one for the Blue Jackets, making it 3-1 Panthers after two periods. In the 3rd, after Oliver Bjorkstrand cut the Florida lead to 3-2, Carter Verhaege converted on the empty net goal with 23 seconds left to seal the win.
Lammikko said of his first period goal that it was "A nice pass by Weegs(MacKenzie Weegar). I just tried to hit the net because Lomby(Ryan Lomberg) and Acch(Noel Acciari) were coming toward the net. I just tried to get the puck to the net, and it went in."
Bobrovsky stopped 38 shots out of the 40 that came his way in a dominant showing against his old team in Columbus. The win continued the hot streak by Bobrovsky, and pushes his record to 9-2-2 this season, as he's won 5 of his last 6 starts. The Panthers sit in 3rd place in the NHL's Central Division, with a 16-5-4 record on the season.
Bobrovsky said of the goalie duel between him and Joonas Korpisalo that "I think we put on a show today. He made two unbelievable saves. Everybody in the building thought they went in, but he somehow kept them out. It definitely gives you energy, gives you a little bit extra kind of motivation to compete. I thought it was a great performance."
Korpisalo got the loss for the Blue Jackets, saving 29 shots out of 32 that came his way, including two spectacular stick saves. Korpisalo's record fell to 7-9-4 this season with the loss, while Columbus possesses a 10-12-5 record this season, good for 5th place in the Central Division.
Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said of the loss that there were "A lot of good things, but there's still a lot of things we have to corral away from the puck. Frustrating you don't get a result, you don't get any result, but we gotta stay with it. A lot of good minutes, but there's still some things to be cleaned up."
The two teams meet again Thursday in Columbus, with Bobrovsky and Korpisalo slated to be the goalies again.
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