Despite 32 saves from Jet Greaves, the Blue Jackets lost 5-2 to the Florida Panthers on Sunday at Nationwide Arena.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| FLA PANTHERS | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
1st Period
Gustav Forsling opened the scoring at 1:02 after a defensive-zone breakdown by the Blue Jackets left him wide-open at the left circle where he received a pass from Reinhart, who was also wide-open at the slot.
#TimeToHunt Forsling goal pic.twitter.com/jTDydmD6sa
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 10, 2023
Kent Johnson nearly scored a dexterous goal at 5:09 when he batted Adam Fantilli's centering pass down at the doorstep, but Anthony Stolarz made the save.
Yegor Chinakhov scored his third goal in two games to tie the contest at one at 7:06 with a wicked wrist shot from the high slot.
#CBJ Chinakhov (6) goal pic.twitter.com/4X3Zv9wxWl
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 10, 2023
Just 22 seconds later, Carter Verheaghe put Florida ahead 2-1 when he deflected Reinhart's shot from the slot that finished a sequence started by Aaron Ekblad dislodging Johnny Gaudreau of the puck.
#TimeToHunt Verhaeghe goal pic.twitter.com/sdkd9pG27B
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 10, 2023
The Blue Jackets trailed 2-1 after the first period and were behind 12-7 in shots on goal.
2nd Period
Greaves kept the Columbus deficit at one at 4:06 when he made a fantastic save on Evan Rodrigues from the right slot.
Greaves made another great save at 12:25, denying Niko Mikkola's backhand attempt from the doorstep, stifling a Florida two-on-one rush.
After a scoreless second frame, Florida took a 2-1 lead over Columbus into the third period and a 21-13 advantage in shots on goal.
3rd Period
Just 24 seconds into the period, Nick Cousins boarded Erik Gudbranson, who got up, dropped the gloves, and went after Cousins. While he was originally assessed a five-minute major, Cousins' boarding penalty was reduced to a minor.
At 6:49, Gudbranson found Cousins, pulled him down, and started throwing punches. For his actions, he was given two minutes for being an instigator, five minutes for fighting, a ten-minute misconduct, and a game misconduct, totaling 27 PIMs.
Gudbranson taking no prisoners. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/FE6jAMfebz
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) December 10, 2023
Dmitri Voronkov cut the Columbus deficit in half at 16:11 when he finished a rebound from the blue paint.
Matthew Tkachuk made it 4-2 with a long-range empty-net goal at 18:05.
Eetu Luostarinen added another empty-net goal at 18:59 to seal the game for Florida.
With the loss, the Blue Jackets fell to 9-16-5.
Stats
- Shots on Goal: FLA 37-19 CBJ
- Face-off %: FLA 49-51 CBJ
- Power play: FLA 1/2-0/2 CBJ
- Giveaways: FLA 1-6 CBJ
- Takeaways: FLA 3-1 CBJ
- Blocked shots: FLA 14-18 CBJ
- Hits: FLA 9-21 CBJ
-
5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
- Expected Goals (xG): FLA 2.18-1.52 CBJ
- Shot Attempts (CF): FLA 54-41 CBJ
- Shots on Goal (SF): FLA 23-16 CBJ
- Scoring Chances (SCF): FLA 30-25 CBJ
- High-Danger Chances (HDCF): FLA 9-7 CBJ
Injury Update
- Patrik Laine and Erik Gudbranson returned after missing the last three games with illnesses.
- Cole Sillinger returned to the ice after missing five games with an upper-body injury.
- Boone Jenner is on IR and is expected to miss six weeks with a broken jaw he suffered in Friday's game.
- Elvis Merzlikins was placed on IR retroactive to Dec. 5 with an illness.
- Adam Boqvist was placed on IR retroactive to Dec. 5 and will miss approximately four weeks with a shoulder strain.
- Damon Severson was placed on IR retroactive to Nov. 19 and will miss approximately six weeks with an oblique injury.
- Jack Roslovic has been on IR since Nov. 13 with a fractured ankle that will sideline him for four to six weeks.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets are back in action on Thursday when they travel to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
The club returns home to face the New Jersey Devils on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
