The Florida Panthers lost star forward Matthew Tkachuk to injury, but acquired a five-time NHL All-Star on defense. Plus, how the Miami Dolphins are preparing for NFL free agency.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 16 shots for his second shutout in four games and fourth of the season, and the Florida Panthers won their fifth straight, 3-0 over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night.
The win for Bobrovsky was his 423rd, moving the 36-year-old, 14-year veteran into a tie with Tony Esposito for 10th on the NHL’s career list. He did it in 742 games, 144 fewer than Esposito.
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WATCH HEREAleksander Barkov assisted on Florida's first two goals and scored on an empty-netter. Sam Reinhart also had a goal and two assists for the Panthers, and Mackie Samoskevich scored the other goal.
Elvis Merzlikins made 33 saves for the Blue Jackets.
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The Panthers got their first two goals on the power play. Reinhart converted in the first period and Samoskevich in the second.
Atlantic Division-leading Florida has won 10 of 12, with Bobrovsky in net for seven of those victories.
Takeaways
Sports
Blue Jackets: Columbus, currently in position for a wild-card playoff berth, is 5-4-1 in its last 10 games.
Panthers: Bobrovsky's prior shutout was a 3-0 victory over Calgary on Saturday night.
Key moment
After Merzlikins turned away a shot by Barkov, Samoskevich buried the rebound for a 2-0 lead.
Key stat
Florida outshot Columbus 36-16.
Up next
The Blue Jackets visit the Rangers while Florida hosts Buffalo on Saturday.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
