Blue Jackets win 10th in row, shut out Panthers

COLUMBUS-- Sergei Bobrovsky made 33 saves for the Columbus Blue Jackets in their 10th straight win, 4-0 against the Florida Panthers at Nationwide Arena on Thursday.

Columbus (42-28-5) is third in the Metropolitan Division, one point ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers and behind the second-place Pittsburgh Penguins because it has played one more game.
The Blue Jackets tied the Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators for the longest winning streak in the NHL this season.
WATCH: [All Panthers vs. Blue Jackets highlights]
"It was one of our most complete games," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "The first period they were fast. We gave them too much ice in the neutral zone that allowed them to generate speed."
Florida (37-28-7) failed to pass the New Jersey Devils for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Panthers are one point behind having played one fewer game.
"We've been a good team all year facing adversity and bouncing back after a game like this" Florida coach Bob Boughner said.
The Blue Jackets have outscored opponents 42-22 during their streak.

"We don't talk about the streak," Tortorella said. "That's not what this is about. It's about at the end of the year trying to get in [to the playoffs]. That overlays everything."
Cam Atkinson, Sonny Milano and Seth Jones scored in the first 5:42 of the second period. Thomas Vanek scored into an empty-net at 17:35 of the third to make it 4-0.
"It was a five-minute lapse in our game," said Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo, who made 29 saves. "That was the ballgame. I thought the other 55 minutes was pretty evenly played, good playoff hockey. It was good back and forth, a pretty intense game.

"They came out strong in the second, and as a team we weren't ready for it. It's tough to come back on a team like that."
Atkinson gave Columbus a 1-0 lead 59 seconds into the second period off a pass from Artemi Panarin, who stole the puck outside the blue line then passed to his left for the one-timer.
"We settled into our game plan," Atkinson said. "The first period we were kind of forcing and not holding on pucks and our forechecking. They made a push there. The second period we got one early, got some momentum, got the crowd into it and we got two goals from there."
Milano made it 2-0 at 3:20, and Jones scored on the power play for a 3-0 lead. His shot from the blue line ended the Panthers' streak of 24 straight penalty kills over 11 games.
Bobrovsky made 14 saves in the third period for his fifth shutout of the season and 24th in the NHL.
"We were disciplined. We were smart with the puck," he said. "We played as a unit, one group on defense and offense. Forwards made smart decisions in the [defensive] zone and the [defensemen] gave them the puck."

Goal of the game

Atkinson's goal at 59 seconds of the second period.

Save of the game

Bobrovsky's save against Mike Matheson at 10:43 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Milano's goal at 3:20 of the second period.

They said it

"We didn't match much in this game. It felt like it was our fault, but Columbus was on us all the time and didn't give us space and time. Of course, it's all about us. We needed to step up this game but we didn't." -- Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov
"We're just playing hockey, that's the most important thing. We're not thinking about anything." -- Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones on the 10-game winning streak

Need to know

It the second-longest winning streak in Blue Jackets history; they won 16 games in a row from Nov. 29, 2016 to Jan. 3, 2017. Columbus is the third team in NHL history to have a winning streak of at least 10 games in consecutive seasons, joining Philadelphia (1984-85, 1985-86) and Pittsburgh (2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13). ... The Blue Jackets' eight-game home winning streak is tied for the second-longest in their history (Oct. 21 to Nov. 18, 2016). The record is nine (Nov. 29, 2016, to Jan. 3, 2017). ... Jones returned from missing three games with an upper-body injury. He has nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past five games. ... Panarin has 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists) in the past 17 games. ... Atkinson has 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in the past 14 games.

What's next

Panthers: Host the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FS-F, FS-A, NHL.TV)
Blue Jackets: Host the St. Louis Blues on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, FS-MW, NHL.TV)