Wennberg hat trick, Bobrovsky 44 saves help Panthers defeat Blue Jackets

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Sergei Bobrovsky made 44 saves, and Alex Wennberg scored his first NHL hat trick when the Florida Panthers defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 at BB&T Center on Saturday.

The Panthers honored Bobrovsky in a pregame ceremony for his 500th NHL game, which he played Feb. 10, 2020 against the Philadelphia Flyers, his first NHL team. He played for Columbus from 2012-19.
"It definitely was (fun)," Bobrovsky said. "It was a special night since I stepped into the locker room before the game to see all the jerseys and the last names in Russian and all the boys were trying to figure out their last names. And all the way through. I was trying to take every moment in and enjoy every moment of this special night. And the guys did a great job. It was definitely a special and memorable night for me."

MacKenzie Weegar and Frank Vatrano each had a goal and an assist for the Panthers (25-9-4), who have a season-high five-game winning streak.
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored for the Blue Jackets (14-17-8). Elvis Merzlikins was pulled after making 21 saves in two periods. Joonas Korpisalo made 12 saves in the third period.
"I think we're playing the right way," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "Gave up a little bit too much tonight, but give them some credit. We just give too much for free. We are not equipped enough as far as goal scoring to give things for free. We played a ton of good minutes tonight."
The teams play again here Sunday. Florida is 4-0-1 in the series this season.
Wennberg played for the Blue Jackets from 2014-20; the forward signed with Florida on Oct 9, one day after he was bought out by Columbus.
"I mean, it's always a little bit special to play against them," Wennberg said. "We've played them a bunch in the past, but it was one of those games right now you're excited for this game, and just the way it played, I felt we had a good one as well. So it was just a lot of fun out there."
Weegar gave Florida a 1-0 lead at 3:57 of the second period when he took a cross-ice pass from center Aleksander Barkov and scored with a high shot to the glove side. Barkov returned after missing six games with a lower-body injury.

Wennberg made it 2-0 at 4:49 when he one-timed a pass from Vatrano on a 2-on-1. The arena horn sounded to stop play after 21 seconds when the goal was confirmed.
Wennberg then made it 3-0 at 8:47 with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle.
Bjorkstrand made it 3-1 at 2:46 of the third period when he scored on a rebound.
"I think we're playing better hockey," Bjorkstrand said. "We just need to find a way to get better results. We've just got to build off what makes us successful. That's all we can do. We need to win."

Vatrano gave Florida a 4-1 lead at 10:54 on a rebound after Korpisalo stopped Owen Tippett on a breakaway. Zach Werenski got Columbus within 4-2 at 18:15.
Wennberg completed the hat trick with an empty-net goal with 7 seconds left for the 5-2 final. It came two nights after he scored in overtime for a 3-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings.
"It's a great week," he said after his 453rd NHL game. "I mean, right now it's kind of working my way a little bit. I'm just trying to ride the wave a little bit and keep doing the same thing and hopefully I can get some more next game as well."
NOTES: Florida defenseman Matt Kiersted played 12:47 and had four blocked shots in his NHL debut two days after signing as a free agent from the University of North Dakota. ... Florida forward Patric Hornqvist played 18:30 and had an assist after missing four games with an undisclosed injury. ... Columbus center Jack Roslovic was a healthy scratch for the first time since arriving in a trade with the Winnipeg Jets on Jan. 23. ... Florida forward Jonathan Huberdeau is third in Panthers history with 574 games played. He was tied with defenseman Robert Svehla and trails forwards Stephen Weiss (654) and Radek Dvorak (613). ... Bobrovsky is 293-177-45 in 529 NHL games (518 starts). He has played 72 games for the Panthers, 83 games for the Flyers and 374 for the Blue Jackets.