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Florida Panthers stifle Columbus Blue Jackets, help Sergei Bobrovsky post 3-0 shutout
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- Florida Panthers stifle Columbus Blue Jackets, help Sergei Bobrovsky post 3-0 shutout
Some blowouts don't require a lot of goals.
The Blue Jackets found that out Thursday against the Florida Panthers , whose stifling defense helped goalie Sergei Bobrovsky cruise to a 3-0 shutout at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida .
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Playing without Matthew Tkachuk , a star power forward, the Panthers (39-21-3) helped Bobrovsky cruise to the 48th shutout of his career and fourth of the season, showing why they're leading the Atlantic Division with 81 points as the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Using size, strength and aggressiveness within a suffocating defensive structure, the Panthers controlled play against the Blue Jackets (30-24-8) from start-to-finish. They limited Columbus to seven shots in the first period, three in the second and six in the third for a dominant 36-16 edge that kept Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins scrambling.
The lone good news for Columbus is what happened in Detroit, where the Red Wings lost to Utah 4-2 for their fourth straight loss. The Red Wings could have leapfrogged the Jackets in a tight playoff race had they won.
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Otherwise, the Blue Jackets had a second straight game to forget in Florida. Merzlikins, by far, was their best player with 33 saves to keep his team within striking distance and keep the final score respectable.
Sam Reinhart and Mackie Samoskevich capped power plays in the first and second periods, respectively, to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead starting the third. Aleksander Barkov scored Florida's third goal into an empty net for insurance with 2:12 left in the third and Merzlikins on the bench for an extra attacker. Barkov also assisted on the Panthers' first two goals for a three-point night.
The Blue Jackets will return to Columbus to await Friday's 3 p.m. trade deadline and regroup before playing the final two games of a tough road trip Sunday against the New York Rangers and Tuesday against the New Jersey Devils .
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Florida Panthers stifle Columbus Blue Jackets for Bobrovsky shutout
