The Florida Panthers secured a 4-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday, driven by a three-point performance from forward Sam Reinhart.
Following a scoreless opening frame, Columbus opened the scoring just 41 seconds into the second period when Cole Sillinger collected a shorthanded snap shot for his first goal of the season. Anton Lundell leveled the game for Florida midway through the period with a wrist shot. Sean Monahan answered quickly for the Blue Jackets with a wrist shot at 11:22, but Dmitry Kulikov tied it 2-2 only 37 seconds later with his first goal of the season on a tip-in.
Reinhart gave Florida the lead with just two seconds left in the second period, scoring on a wrist shot at 19:58. In the third period, Eetu Luostarinen extended the Panthers advantage to 4-2 with a snap shot at 15:12, set up by Reinhart and Niko Mikkola. James van Riemsdyk narrowed the deficit for Columbus with a deflected goal at 17:21, his first tally of the campaign, but the Blue Jackets could not find an equalizer.
Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight stopped 35 of 38 shots to earn the win, while Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins made 18 saves on 22 shots. Special teams produced no power-play goals, as Florida finished 0 for 3 with the man advantage and Columbus went 0 for 2, though the Blue Jackets did convert Sillinger shorthanded marker.
The victory improved Florida to a 3-2-0 record on the season and extended their winning streak to two games. The loss dropped Columbus to 1-2-0 on the year.
