NHL Update: Columbus Blue Jackets crush Florida Panthers, 3-2
R.J. Umberger lit the lamp in extra session, as Columbus Blue Jackets held on for 3-2 victory over Florida Panthers, at Bank Atlantic Centre on Wednesday night.
Antoine Vermette scored the tying goal for Columbus, which won second game in its previous nine. Fedor Tyutin also found the net, while Steve Mason had 29 saves in the win.
David Booth and Cory Stillman tallied goals for Florida, which has dropped two straight contests. Tomas Vokoun was still strong in losing effort, stopping 35 shots.
Panthers notched the lead 1-0 in just 2 ½ minutes of the first period. The goal came when Dmitry Kulikov snapped a shot from the point that was stopped by Mason. Mike Santorelli controlled
the puck and threw it to the high slot where Booth gathered it and fired a low wrist shot inside the left post for his 14th goal of the season.
Florida struck again to make it 2-0 game in ninth minute of the first period. It happened so when Radek Dvorak slapped a shot from the right circle that bounced off Mason. It then hit Stillman
who redirected it into the net.
Columbus opened its scoring to cut the deficit in half 2-1 with 1 ½ minute to play in the first session. It started when puck came around the end boards to Tyutin inside the blue line, and
he launched a successful shot from the left point past Vokoun.
“We definitely knew what had happened to them the last game,” Mason said. “We weren’t happy with how we played early, but we were only down 2-1 after one period. I think the guys had a lot
of confidence going into the second and third periods and we were rewarded for it.”
Columbus appeared to have knotted the game with three minutes left in the middle stanza, when Derick Brassard got a loose puck at the right side of the crease and roofed it. But, a video
review determined the shot only skimmed the crossbar and sailed back into play.
Mason was pulled with one minute to play, and the move paid off with 50 seconds to remaining when Grant Clitsome ripped a point shot that was blocked by Vokoun, but Vermette picked up the
rebound and backhanded into the net to tie the game at 2-2.
"This is a repeat of a lot of other nights," Florida head coach Peter DeBoer said. "We get the lead, have some opportunities to extend it, we don't, and the other team pushes back."
With 54 seconds to play in overtime, Rick Nash used the backhand to dish the puck from the left boards back to Clitsome, who fired a slap shot from the right circle. Umberger deflected the
shot into the net to turn the game into a rout.
“I’m standing in front trying to stand in traffic and it went off my shaft and up into the corner,” Umberger said. “We’ve been fighting and clawing the last few games, and we’ve had a lot
of overtime games that we didn’t get the second point and tonight we found a way. We needed that big-time.”
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