Florida Panthers blow early three-goal lead but beat Columbus Blue Jackets in overtime
For the first 15 minutes on Monday night, the Florida Panthers looked nearly unstoppable against the Columbus Blue Jackets. They dominated possession, built a three-goal lead that forced Columbus to make a goaltending change and allowed just one shot on goal on the other end.
And then...
“We started playing cute and making stupid plays,” captain Aleksander Barkov said in an intermission interview on the Bally Sports Florida broadcast.
That allowed the Blue Jackets to tie the game by the middle of the second period and take a lead in the third before the Panthers pulled off a dramatic finish in a 5-4 overtime win at Amerant Bank Arena.
Nick Cousins tied the game with 56.4 seconds left in regulation before Carter Verhaeghe scored the game winner 1:26 into overtime.
“Definitely nice to get the win,” Verhaeghe said, “but it’s obviously not how we drew it up.”
Considering how dominant Florida (6-4-1) was over the first 15 minutes, it was tough to fathom them need to rally late to eek out a win.
Florida held Columbus without a shot on goal for a stretch of 14:22 in the first period as it asserted mounted an early lead.
Ryan Lomberg, Gustav Forsling and Barkov scored in the first 6:09 to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead on their first 11 shots.
Lomberg scored from a wide angle on a shot that hit Columbus starting goaltender Elvis Merzlikins and went into the net 2:19 into the game. Forsling doubled the score 90 seconds later with a slap shot from the point. Barkov capped the scoring surge with a backhanded shot from up close.
That was enough to chase Merzlikins from the game.
Spencer Martin, who replaced Merzlikins, stopped the first 34 shots he faced to allow Columbus (4-5-3) to mount its comeback bid.
“After they switched goalies,” Cousins said, “they kind of turned the momentum in their favor.”
That Blue Jackets rally began with two goals in the final 4:19 of the first period, with Sean Kuraly and Boone Jenner scoring about three minutes apart to put Columbus within a goal despite being outshot 20-7 in that first period.
Kirill Marchenko then tied the game with a power-play goal 10:02 into the second period before Alexandre Texier gave Columbus its first lead with 7:30 left in regulation.
And then Cousins tied the game in the final minute, forcing a takeaway in the offensive zone and firing a wrist shot from the slot to force overtime, and Verhaeghe sealed the win when he cleaned up a rebound on an Anton Lundell shot and buried the puck past Martin.
“Small steps,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “Just keep grinding.”
Up next
The Panthers go on the road to face the Washington Capitals on Wednesday with puck drop set for 7:30 p.m. They then cap the week with a pair of home games against the Carolina Hurricanes at 7 p.m. Friday and Chicago Blackhawks at 1 p.m. Sunday.
This story was originally published November 6, 2023 at 9:50 PM.
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