Olivier scores twice, Blue Jackets hold off Panthers for 3rd win in row

COLUMBUS -- Mathieu Olivier scored twice, and Ivan Provorov had a goal and two assists for the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 4-2 win against the Florida Panthers at Nationwide Arena on Thursday.

“As far as that team (the Panthers), they set the standard the last two years as to what it takes to be successful,” Olivier said of the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. “So, [it’s] a really good match for us. Obviously, we did a good job. They pushed hard in the third (period). They tried to get physical on us. I thought we did a good job responding.”

Boone Jenner also scored, and Jet Greaves made 26 saves for the Blue Jackets (32-21-8), who have won three straight games after losing their first two following the break for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 and are 14-2-1 in their past 17.

“We knew coming out of the break that every game coming down the stretch was going to be tightly contested,” Greaves said. “It was just going to be small details that make the difference and we definitely learned that in those first few games.”

Niko Mikkola and Sam Bennett scored, Aaron Ekblad had two assists, and Daniil Tarasov made 24 saves for the Panthers (30-29-3), who have lost four in a row.

“It's great character in this room, so it's not an issue there,” Bennett said. “I think it's sometimes you're trying to do too much and sometimes that's the opposite of what you need.

“There's no panic. I mean, there's light at the end of the tunnel for sure. It's frustrating right now but we still have a ton of belief in this team.”

Provorov made it 1-0 at 5:08 of the first period with a power-play goal. He scored with a wrist shot from the point that deflected off the stick of Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov.

Olivier increased the lead to 2-0 at 10:50 of the second period with a redirection of an Egor Zamula shot from above the left face-off circle.

Jenner made it 3-0 at 1:41 of the third period. Kent Johnson fed him out of the right corner for a wrist shot from the right hash marks. 

“Every shift was a battle and we won a lot of them,” said Jenner, the Columbus captain, “so I like the way we played and stayed with it, even though they're making their push in third. Just a team win.”

Mikkola cut it to 3-1 at 9:08 with his first goal in 26 games. The defenseman tipped a shot from the left point by Ekblad.

“It’s desperation hockey right now and maybe we are shirking a little bit with the confidence,” Mikkola said. “Maybe we are a little banged up. I think everything is a little disbalanced here, and when you don't have the confidence you start to try too much and then the team game goes south.”

Bennett made it 3-2 at 14:44 with a power-play goal on a shot from the high slot.

Gustav Forsling then had what would have been the tying goal overturned at 17:05 after the Blue Jackets challenged for goaltender interference.

“I felt like obviously there was some contact there,” Greaves said. “You never know how those are going to go, who initiated it, whether there was a push or not, but I was happy it went our way.”

Olivier scored into an empty net at 18:18 for the 4-2 final. 

Columbus forward Mason Marchment exited at 15:32 of the second with an upper-body injury and will be evaluated further Friday, coach Rick Bowness said.

Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski missed a third straight game due to illness, and Columbus defensemen Dante Fabbro did not play because of a lower-body injury.

The Panthers traded defenseman Jeff Petry to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

“A real good teammate,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “We had a whole bunch of nights where he was playing with a different partner, but he competed for us.”

Panthers forward A.J. Greer did not dress. 

“I think they're calling it roster management,” Maurice said. “He's a very sought-after young man, and that will sort itself out over the next 24 hours.”

The NHL Trade Deadline is 3 p.m. ET on Friday.

NOTES: The Blue Jackets had lost nine straight to the Panthers dating to Dec. 13, 2022.