Captain Aleksander Barkov scored a power-play goal 29 seconds into overtime and Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves to fuel the visiting Florida Panthers to a 1-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.
With Kirill Marchenko serving a delay-of-game penalty that spanned into overtime, Barkov ended the extra session in short order after wiring a shot from the high slot past a screened Elvis Merzlikins.
The goal was Barkov’s 19th of the season and second vs. Columbus.
Bobrovsky turned aside all eight shots he faced in the third period (and none in overtime) to preserve his fifth shutout of the season — and second against the Blue Jackets. The two-time Vezina Trophy recipient finished with 16 saves in Florida’s 3-0 home win over Columbus on March 6.
The Panthers (42-24-3, 87 points) snapped a two-game skid and improved to a 2-3-0 on their season-high six-game road trip. Florida also completed a three-game season sweep of Columbus.
Merzlikins finished with 27 saves while playing in his first game since returning following the birth of his son, Jaxon.
The Blue Jackets (31-28-9, 71 points) have been shut out in four of their past seven games. Columbus has lost five in a row overall (0-4-1) and seven of its past eight games (1-6-1).
Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner appeared to open the scoring with 9:46 remaining of the third period after deflecting a shot from the point past Bobrovsky. Officials, however, disallowed the goal after deeming that Jenner used a distinct kicking motion to boot the puck into the net.
Columbus’ Adam Fantilli nearly scored early into the third period after his shot caromed off the post. He also provided a stellar defensive play in the first, alertly making a sliding block to deny Florida defenseman Nate Schmidt from point-blank range.
Blue Jackets forward James van Riemsdyk had his wrist shot from the left circle carom off the crossbar with 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the first period.
–Field Level Media
