Brady Tkachuk scored three consecutive goals in the second period to lead the Florida Panthers to a 7-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.
Columbus took the initial lead in the first period when Kent Johnson scored unassisted on a wrist shot at 14:11. Florida responded early in the second frame as Brady Tkachuk converted a wrist shot at 2:27 to tie the score 1-1. Brady Tkachuk added a power-play tip-in at 6:00 to put Florida ahead, then completed his hat trick with another power-play wrist shot at 10:30. Carter Verhaeghe pushed the advantage to 4-1 with a snap shot on the power play at 17:50.
Florida expanded the margin early in the third period. Sam Reinhart scored on a power-play tip-in at 1:20, and Verhaeghe added an even-strength wrist goal at 3:28 to make it 6-1. The Blue Jackets trimmed the deficit with two quick tallies later in the frame. Denton Mateychuk scored his first goal of the season on a snap shot at 13:47, followed 22 seconds later by a Cole Sillinger snap shot at 14:09. Reinhart capped the scoring into an empty net at 17:43.
Special teams shaped the outcome as the Panthers went 4-for-6 on the power play while holding Columbus to 0-for-2. Florida goaltender Akira Schmid earned the win with 24 saves on 27 shots. For the Blue Jackets, Cam Talbot stopped 17 of 23 shots in the loss before Jet Greaves made four saves on four shots in relief.
Matthew Tkachuk distributed five assists to finish with five points, while Brady Tkachuk recorded four points on three goals and one assist. Seth Jones also had four points on four assists, and Reinhart finished with two goals and an assist. The win moved the Panthers to 3-2-2 on the season, while the Blue Jackets dropped to 2-3-0 and are winless in two consecutive games.
The Blue Jackets visit the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, October 18. Florida plays next when it visits the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, October 21.
