Extra special night for Panthers’ Alex Wennberg with a hat trick against Blue Jackets
John Tortorella, according to many published reports, used a barrage of criticism to help run Alex Wennberg out of Columbus.
Wennberg, with his first career hat trick on Saturday night, may have helped run Tortorella out of Columbus, too.
That was the upshot of the Florida Panthers’ 5-2 win over the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets at BB&T Center.
Wennberg, who also had the overtime goal that beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 on Thursday, was the biggest Panthers story on a night full of them, including the return from injury of Aleksander Barkov and Patric Hornqvist and the debut of a rookie defenseman.
“It’s always extra special to play against your former team,” Wennberg said. “Our line created a lot of chances, and I’m just trying to ride the wave.”
Wennberg scored three goals on four shots to help the Panthers extend their season-best win streak to five games. The Panthers are now 17-0-1 when leading after two periods.
“He is so skilled,” Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsksy said of Wennberg. “It’s great to see him score some goals. We’re happy for him.”
Wennberg had a career-high 13 goals and a career-high 46 assists for Columbus in 2016-2017. But he scored just 12 goals combined in his next two years in Columbus, and the Blue Jackets, on Oct. 8, 2020, bought him out of his original six-year, $29.4-million contract. At the time, he had three more years left on his deal.
Suddenly a free agent, Wennberg quickly signed a one-year, $2.25-million contract with the Panthers and GM Bill Zito, formerly part of the Columbus organization.
Now, it’s Tortorella whose job is in jeopardy, according to reports, as the Blue Jackets are in next-to-last place in the Central Division.
Wennberg’s big game — he now has 11 goals this season — overshadowed some other juicy Panthers story lines:
▪ Barkov and Hornqvist each had one assist as they returned from injury.
“Those guys are big pieces of our team,” said Bobrovsky, who made 44 saves. “It looks like they never missed a game.”
▪ Rookie defenseman Matt Kiersted, who starred as a senior this past season for the top-ranked University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks, made his NHL debut just a couple of days after signing a two-year contract.
Kiersted, playing in front of his parents and other friends and family members, had four blocks and no points in 12:47 of ice time. He also got 1:25 worth of ice time on the power play and seemed to take it all in stride.
“My parents might have been more excited than I was,” said Kiersted, who turns 23 on April 14. “They were fired up.”
▪ Panthers forward Frank Vatrano and defenseman MacKenzie Weegar each had one goal and one assist. Weegar now has a career-high 21 points.
▪ Besides Wennberg, several other Panthers players are former Blue Jackets, including Bobrovsky, Anton Stralman and Markus Nutivaara.
Florida opened the scoring with 3:57 expired in the second period. Barkov’s cross-ice pass set up Weegar for a goal from the left circle. Weegar fired a high shot just under the crossbar, and Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins had no chance.
The Panthers made it 2-0 just 52 seconds later. After Columbus lost the puck, Vatrano’s pass set up Wennberg’s one-timer from the right circle. The goal stood after a video review.
Just under four minutes later, Wennberg scored again — this time from the left circle — for a 3-0 lead.
Columbus spoiled Bobrovsky’s shutout attempt with 2:46 expired in the third. Bobrovsky stopped Michael Del Zotto’s long drive, but the rebound went directly to the stick of Oliver Bjorkstrand, who scored rather easily.
The Panthers took a 4-2 lead with 10:54 gone in the third. Owen Tippett stole a pass and raced in for a breakaway shot that was stopped before Vatrano scored on the rebound.
Columbus got one more goal on a score by Zach Werenski with 1:45 left, but Wennberg’s empty-netter settled things for the Panthers.
THIS AND THAT
▪ Zito has been busy the past few days. On Friday, the Panthers traded forward Vinnie Hinostroza to Chicago for forward Brad Morrisson, 24, a former fourth-round pick of the Rangers.
Earlier in the week, the Panthers signed goalie Spencer Knight and Kiersted. Knight, the Panthers’ first-round pick in 2019, played two seasons at Boston College. He turns 20 on April 19.
This story was originally published April 3, 2021 at 10:50 PM.