Columbus 3, Florida 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 12, 2014
Where: BB&T Center, Sunrise, Florida
Referees:
Tom Kowal, Brad Watson
Linesmen:
Steve Miller, Tony Sericolo
Attendance:
14241
By SportsDirect Inc.
Blue Jackets 3, Panthers 2: Ryan Johansen scored the go-ahead goal on the power play early in the third period and visiting Columbus held on to defeat Florida in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Mark Letestu recorded his fourth goal in five games and Cam Atkinson netted his 21st as the Blue Jackets set the franchise record for points in a season with 93. Johansen added an assist and Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 33 shots for Columbus, which secured the first wild card and will play Metropolitan Division champion Pittsburgh in the first round of the playoffs.
Vincent Trocheck scored a short-handed goal and Jimmy Hayes also tallied for the Panthers, who lost to the Blue Jackets for the eighth straight time. Roberto Luongo made 35 saves as Florida finished with fewer than 30 wins in a full season for the first time since 2003-04.
Atkinson was alone in front to knock home a feed from Brandon Dubinsky on a delayed penalty 47 seconds into the contest. Florida was outshot 18-9 in the opening period but forged a tie while killing off a five-minute elbowing major on captain Ed Jovanovski with 1:01 left as Trocheck’s backhand shot squirted past Bobrovsky.
Hayes beat Bobrovsky to the glove side 6:35 into the second session before Letestu knotted it during a power play 3:39 later with a shot from the right faceoff circle after a cross-ice pass from Johansen. The Blue Jackets went ahead 5:58 into the third, when Johansen one-timed a cross-ice feed from defenseman James Wisniewski past Luongo.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Blue Jackets earned 92 points in 2008-09, the only other time they made the postseason. ... Columbus RW Jared Boll registered two penalty minutes to tie Jody Shelley for the all-time franchise lead with 1,025. … Blue Jackets D Ryan Murray was held out as a precaution - five games after his return from arthroscopic knee surgery. … Florida C Nick Bjugstad was held off the scoresheet but became the first rookie in franchise history to lead the team in scoring with 38 points.
Top Game Performances
| Columbus |
|
Florida |
|
Ryan Johansen 2 |
Points |
Jimmy Hayes 1 |
|
Ryan Johansen 1 |
Goals |
Jimmy Hayes 1 |
|
Ryan Johansen 1 |
Assists |
Brian Campbell 1 |
|
Ryan Johansen 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
Vincent Trocheck 1 |
|
Sergei Bobrovsky .943 |
Save Percentage |
Roberto Luongo .921 |
|
Sergei Bobrovsky 33 |
Saves |
Roberto Luongo 35 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Columbus
|
38 |
3 |
2-5 |
4-4 |
8 |
26 |
| Florida
|
35 |
2 |
0-4 |
3-5 |
23 |
28 |
For more information, contact us