Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Vincent Trocheck had a goal and an assist when the Florida Panthers defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 at BB&T Center on Saturday.
Trocheck, who was named to the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Tuesday, has six goals and seven assists in the past 10 games.

"I really like him," Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr said. "He deserves everything he's got. He's worked very hard. He's (got) small size (5-foot-10, 182 pounds) but a big heart. He's a good player. His strength is his speed, so when he's skating, it's tough to stop."
WATCH: All Blue Jackets vs. Panthers highlights
Jagr, Shawn Thornton and Jonathan Marchessault scored for the Panthers (20-17-18). Thornton's goal ended a 50-game drought that dated to Dec. 20, 2015 and was his 100th NHL point.
"I'm not that impressed with getting 100 points," Thornton said. "It's not that impressive when it takes (674) games. But I'm glad we won. That's a good team over there. I thought the team played the right way tonight. That's why we had success."
James Reimer made 30 saves, and Florida won at home for the second time in nine games (2-4-3).
Scott Hartnell, Cam Atkinson and Boone Jenner scored for the Blue Jackets (29-9-4), who have lost four of six since a 16-game winning streak. Joonas Korpisalo made 28 saves, and Seth Jones had two assists.
Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky missed his third consecutive game because of illness.
Columbus led 2-1 before Trocheck and Marchessault scored 2:22 apart in the second period. Trocheck scored at 8:24 when his shot from behind the goal line in the corner trickled past Korpisalo.
Marchessault scored at 10:46 after he stole the puck from defenseman Markus Nutivaara in the Columbus zone.
"[Korpisalo has] got to have the one on the goal line," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "It's just a bad goal. The turnover right away … we didn't regroup from it. When they scored those two goals, the momentum changes. We couldn't get it back in the second, and in the third period they checked."

Goal of the game

Thornton made it 1-0 at 8:22 when he skated from behind the net and one-timed a cross-ice pass from Aaron Ekblad after the Florida defenseman stopped a clearing attempt along the boards at the lower hashmark.

Save of the game

In the final minute of the second period, defenseman Mike Matheson one-timed a feed from Jagr in the left circle but was robbed by Korpisalo, who made a low glove save.

Highlight of the game

On his goal, Marchessault skated in alone on Korpisalo after stealing the puck from Nutivaara and held on to the puck until the goalie went down. Korpisalo got a glove on Marchessault's shot, but not enough to stop it from going in.

"It was at the end of my shift," Marchessault said. "I was just trying to get some forecheck going and I think the [defense] heard me coming, so he left the puck for me there."

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Unsung performance of the game

Matheson had a game-high four blocked shots.

They said it

"I thought we played a good game against the best team in the League right now. They've been playing unbelievable and they're a big, strong, physical team and every shift they're coming at you. I thought it was real good that our guys stuck in there and hung in there and did a great job." -- Panthers coach Tom Rowe
"For the last couple of years, he's been a great player for us. I think he's definitely not surprising anybody. I'm glad he got the recognition. I'm glad he's going to L.A. (for the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game) to represent us. It's not only the points and everything else, it's how hard he works and how much he puts it on his shoulders." -- Panthers forward Shawn Thornton on Vincent Trocheck
"The frustrating part at the end is we have chances and we shoot pucks wide instead of getting the puck on goal. … I think you've got to play the percentages. At least get it on the goalie and look for some rebounds. We just weren't good enough." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella

Need to know

Atkinson's goal was his 13th in 18 games. … Columbus, which came in with the best power-play percentage (.258) in the NHL, was 1-for-3. … Florida is 2-0-0 against Columbus this season. Florida won 2-1 in a shootout at BB&T Center on Nov. 26. … Anton Forsberg, recalled from Cleveland of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis Saturday, served as Korpisalo's backup after Bobrovsky was sent home during the day.

What's next

Blue Jackets: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, FS-CR, NHL.TV)
Panthers: At the Calgary Flames on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, FS-F, NHL.TV)