| 1 | 2 | 3 (OT) | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 1 |
 |
0 | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 |
|
CBJ GOALS: |
||||
A tough break.
Again.
For the third time in a four-game homestand, the Columbus Blue Jackets were held off the scoreboard Thursday night in a 1-0 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers.
This time around, the game turned on a late, inadvertent penalty from Kirill Marchenko that gave the Panthers a game-winning power play.
With just 30 seconds left in regulation, Marchenko accidentally put the puck over the glass while chopping at the puck.
"He's trying to do the right thing," said head coach Dean Evason. "He's trying to whack it into the neutral zone."
"It's one thing if we hooked a guy or tripped a guy or held a guy or did something we shouldn't have did," said Evason. "It's just a bad break."
The bad break put the Panthers on the power play, with goaltender Elvis Merzlikins helping send the game to overtime in the final seconds when he made a big save on a Mackie Samoskevich shot. But 29 seconds into the extra period, Florida's Sasha Barkov scored the only goal of the game to give the Blue Jackets their fifth straight loss.
Merzlikins, who was the Second Star of the Game, finished with 27 saves on 28 shots. It was another strong outing from the Blue Jackets netminder, who once again was the hard-luck loser as a result of the scoring slump.
Here's how the Blue Jackets finished an 0-3-1 homestand:
1st Period:
(9:10 — Fantilli's Blocked Shot): It looks like this block from Adam Fantilli kept the game scoreless. With the Blue Jackets on the power play, Florida gets a great chance to take a lead on a short-handed goal — until a diving Fantilli comes in and takes away any chance of that happening. The period ends with no score, but Florida doubling up Columbus 13-5 in shots on goal and 25-17 in shot attempts.
"He came from nowhere. I was surprised," said Merzlikins. "It just shows to all of us that he really cares."
End of the first period with no score between the #CBJ and #TimeToHunt. Play of the period: Adam Fantilli's block on a short-handed chance for Florida. Looks like it kept the Cats off the board.pic.twitter.com/dwf0rovTXy
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) March 20, 2025
2nd Period:
Another scoreless period, but this one favored the Blue Jackets. They outshoot the Panthers 12-7 and grab five of the seven high-danger opportunities, leading to an expected goals of 1.34 to 0.91 in favor of Columbus. There are fireworks at 8:01 of the period, when Elvis Merzlikins took exception to a Carter Verhaeghe follow-up shot attempt at the whistle. Dmitri Voronkov steps in and lets Verhaeghe know how he feels about it, which leads to offsetting minors. Late in the period, Boone Jenner gets an interference minor to give Florida their first power play of the night, but Columbus shuts it down to send the game into the third at 0-0.
3rd Period + Overtime:
(10:14 3rd — Overturned CBJ Goal): The cannon fires in Nationwide Arena — for nothing. Boone Jenner briefly celebrates what would have been his first goal of the season, but it's quickly overturned for a distinct kicking motion.
(0:29 OT — FLA Goal): With the Blue Jackets short-handed, Florida converts on the power play less than 30 seconds into overtime. Barkov fires from the slot for his 19th goal of the season.
| FLA | GAME STATS | CBJ |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | SHOTS | 25 |
| 56% | FACEOFFS | 44% |
| 1/2 | POWER PLAY | 0/2 |
| 2/2 | PENALTY KILL | 1/2 |
| 28 | HITS | 27 |
| 33 | GIVEAWAYS | 27 |
| 3 | TAKEAWAYS | 7 |
| 14 | BLOCKED SHOTS | 18 |
| ALL SITUATIONS ADVANCED STATS | ||
| 2.97 | EXPECTED GOALS | 3.62 |
| 68 | SHOT ATTEMPTS | 75 |
| 29 | SCORING CHANCES | 30 |
| 8 | HIGH-DANGER CHANCES | 12 |
| Data via NHL.com & NaturalStatTrick.com | ||
Stat Chat:
-
The Blue Jackets could not solve Sergei Bobrovsky this season. He shut Columbus out in both of his starts this season, stopping all 41 shots on goal.
-
The Blue Jackets are now 4-for-49 on the power play since the injury to Sean Monahan, including 0-for-19 over their last eight games. Monahan is expected back soon and is currently practicing with the team.
- Fantilli was on the ice for 16:53, with the Blue Jackets garnering 25 of the 32 (78%) shot attempts in that time.
Up Next:
A back-to-back for the Blue Jackets, as they head to Pittsburgh for a Friday night battle with the Penguins. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
