5 Takeaways: Wennberg's Hatty, Bobrovsky's 44 Saves Lift Panthers to Win

SUNRISE, Fla. - A pair of former Blue Jackets got the best of their old club tonight.
With Sergei Bobrovsky stopping 44 of 46 shots that came his way, Alex Wennberg provided the goal support with the first hat trick of his career to help the Panthers extend their season-long winning streak to five games with a 5-2 victory over Columbus at BB&T Center on Saturday.

Prior to puck drop, Bobrovsky was honored for skating in his 500th NHL game late last season.
"I feel like we created some really good chances, and me putting the puck in the back of the net is a good thing as well," said Wennberg, who along with Bobrovsky combined for more than 10 years of service with the Blue Jackets before joining the Panthers. "The whole game was great, and so was celebrating Bob for his 500th game. It was just a great way to play a game, for sure."
With neither team lighting the lamp in the opening 20 minutes, MacKenzie Weegar finally broke the game open in the second period when he took a pass from Aleksander Barkov and ripped a shot past Elvis Merzlikins from inside the left circle to give the Panthers a 1-0 advantage at 3:57.
After that, it was all about Wennberg for a bit.
Extending the lead to 2-0 at 4:49, the 26-year-old center blasted a one-timer past Merzlikins that zoomed in and out of the back of the cage so quickly that officials waived it off initially. However, during the next stoppage of play, the score was reviewed and then correctly put onto the board.
Back at it again less than four minutes later, Wennberg picked up his second goal of the game when he beat Merzlikins with a long wrist shot from beyond the left circle to make it 3-0 at 8:47.
"The guys did a great job offensively," Bobrovsky said with a smile. "Scoring three goals in the second period and then they just shut it down in the third period. It was a great game all over."
Putting an end to Bobrovsky's shutout bid, Oliver Bjorkstrand managed to get the Blue Jackets on the board when he jumped on a rebound and buried his team-leading 14th goal of the season - and fourth in five games against Florida - to make it a 3-1 contest at 2:46 of the third period.
Getting that goal back a bit later, Frank Vatrano found the back of the net for the second straight game when he sent a juicy rebound past Joonas Korpisalo -- who entered into the game in relief of Merzlikins to start the period -- after some hard work from Owen Tippett to make to 4-1 at 10:54.

With Columbus pulling its goaltender for the extra attacker, Zach Werenski then beat Bobrovsky to slice Florida's lead down to 4-2 at 18:15. But with seven seconds left on the clock, Wennberg locked in his first-career hat trick and secured the 5-2 win for the Cats with an empty-net goal.
Catching fire as the home stretch approaches, the Panthers have seen their record improve to an outstanding 25-9-4 during their streak, which has kept them locked in a tie with the Lightning and just a bit ahead of the Hurricanes in the ongoing fight for first place in the Central Division.
"He had a heck of a game, did a lot of good things besides scoring three," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said of Wennberg's performance. "We're happy with his game. He's adding some speed to his game as well. The puck was following him around a little bit. A couple great shots."
Here are five takeaways from Saturday's win in Sunrise…

1. WEEGAR BREAKS THE ICE

With Aaron Ekblad out of the lineup, Weegar has stepped into his sizeable shoes.
Putting up a pair of points during tonight's win, the 27-year-old defenseman broke the lingering stalemate between the Blue Jackets and Panthers when he collected a cross-ice pass from Barkov and roofed a shot from the left circle past Merzlikins to make it 1-0 at 3:57 of the second period.

"I'm happy I could bury one for him," Weegar said of capitalizing on Barkov's sweet dish.
Already building upon a career-high point total, Weegar has tallied 21 points (three goals, 18 assists) in just 38 games this season. Doing most of his damage at even-strength, 20 of those points have come at 5-on-5, which places him fourth among NHL blueliners in that category.

2. WENNBERG'S BIG NIGHT

Look out, Wennberg is heating up!
After touching the twine in overtime to lift the Panthers to a 3-2 win over the Red Wings on Thursday, Wennberg carried that momentum into tonight's game. Just a few minutes after extending Florida's lead to 2-0, he scored again to make it 3-0 at 8:47 of the second period.

Sure, a pair of goals is nice… but three is better.
Waiting until there were only a few seconds remaining in the game to complete his first-career hat trick, Wennberg launched a lengthy shot from deep within Florida's zone that sailed down the ice and into Columbus' empty net to register his third goal of the game seal the 5-2 victory.

Pocketing four goals over his last two games, Wennberg is now up to 11 goals on the season, which are his most since he scored a career-high 13 during the 2016-17 campaign. And with 18 games still left on the schedule, there's no reason to think he can't soon surpass that number.
"Right now, it's kind of working my way a little bit," Wennberg said of his hot streak. "I'm just going to try and ride the wave a little bit, just keep doing the same thing and hopefully I can get some more [goals] next game as well."

3. WELCOME BACK

Getting back in the lineup, both Barkov and Patric Hornqvist made an impact.
Sidelined since March 23 while recovering from a lower-body injury, Barkov picked up an assist and won 56% of his faceoffs over 19:15 of ice time against Columbus, while Hornqvist, who had been held out since March 25, recorded an assist and five shots on goal over 18:30 of ice time.

Clearly, no rust accumulated during their absence.
"They're such good players, so to get them back in the lineup was really good," Wennberg said of the dynamic duo. "With them coming back, I feel like they played really big games. They've been away for a little bit, but they stepped right in and made a difference."
Two critical pieces of Florida's top-six, the return of Barkov and Hornqvist bodes well for the team's push towards the postseason. Even though they missed some time, Barkov still sits in second on the team in scoring with 38 points, while Hornqvist isn't far behind in fourth with 26.

4. KIERSTED'S DEBUT

This was a game that Matt Kiersted will never forget.
Only two days after signing a two-year, entry-level contract with the Panthers, the 22-year-old defenseman was on the ice for the first game of his NHL career. Skating 12:47 against the Blue Jackets, he posted a team-high four blocks and didn't seem at all overwhelmed by the moment.
"They told me before morning skate [I'd be playing]," said Kiersted, who had plenty of family at the game watching his debut from high above the rink in a suite. "I got the jitters right away and called my parents when I left. Everybody was excited. It's been a pretty crazy day."
A highly coveted free agent coming out of college, Kiersted led the University of North Dakota's blueliners in scoring in three of his four seasons with the program, including posting 22 points (three goals, 19 assists) in 29 games during his senior season, which wrapped up a week ago.
"I thought he looked really comfortable, looked poised," Quenneville said of Kiersted. "He did a lot of good things. I like the way he sees and processes the game. He's positionally aware and has a good stick. A really good game for him to start."

5. BIG GAME FOR BOB

The wait was worth it for Bobrovsky.
Unable to celebrate his 500th NHL game last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the two-time Vezina Trophy winning goaltender was treated to a wonderful pre-game celebration prior to putting forth a classic performance in stopping 44 of 46 shots to lead the Panthers to a big win.
Bobrovsky skated in No. 500 on Feb. 10, 2020 to become the 75th goaltender in NHL history to reach that lofty mark and tonight he was honored in a variety of ways by the Panthers. Joined on the ice by his wife, Olga, the 32-year-old received highlight and "thank you" videos as well as several gifts.

During warmups, players also paid homage to both Bobrovsky's achievement and his Russian heritage by wearing jerseys with the No. 500 and their names written using the Cyrillic alphabet.
"It was a special night," said Bobrovsky, who owns a 15-5-2 record this season. "Since I stepped into the locker room before the game, to see all the jerseys with the last names in Russian, and how the boys are talking about trying to figure out what's going on with their last names.
"All the way through, I was trying to take in every moment and savor every moment of this special night. The guys did a great job. I really appreciate the whole organization, my teammates and everybody. It was definitely a special and memorable night for me."

In addition to receiving traditional gifts such as a silver stick and framed photo, Bobrovsky also received something very unique from the Panthers - an upcoming safari throughout Tanzania.
"I didn't expect that [gift] definitely," Bobrovsky said. "It's something that I planned for in the course of my life, to go there and see the animals and life. I was surprised. ... I'm really excited. I have to plan it perfectly."