Brady Tkachuk Scores Natural Hat Trick, Matthew Tkachuk Adds 5 Assists as Panthers Rout Blue Jackets 7-3

Brady Tkachuk scored three straight goals in the second period for a natural hat trick, all of them set up by his brother Matthew Tkachuk, and the Florida Panthers beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-3 at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday night. Matthew finished with five assists, and Florida's power play went 4-for-6 as the Panthers bounced back one night after a 5-3 loss in Buffalo.

The goals were Brady Tkachuk's first three of the season and his first with Florida. The win lifted the Panthers to 3-2-2 after they had lost four of their previous five games (1-2-2) while playing without captain Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand. Columbus fell to 2-3-0 and has lost three of four.

Three goals in 8:03

Kent Johnson gave Columbus a 1-0 lead with an unassisted goal at 14:11 of the first period. Florida took over in the second.

Brady Tkachuk tied the game at 2:27, taking advantage of a turnover by Carson Soucy in the Florida zone and scoring with a shot from the high slot. He put the Panthers ahead 2-1 with a power-play goal at 6:00, then finished the natural hat trick with another power-play goal at 10:30. The three goals came in a span of 8:03 and gave Florida a 3-1 lead.

It was the fourth hat trick of Brady Tkachuk's career and his second against Columbus. According to the NHL, it was the third-fastest hat trick in Panthers history, behind Noel Acciari (3:59 on Dec. 20, 2019, against the Dallas Stars) and Steve Reinprecht (5:11 on Oct. 30, 2009, also against Dallas). The Associated Press reported he became the ninth Panthers player to score three goals in a period.

"I mean, it's pretty cool," Brady Tkachuk said, according to NHL.com. "It's something that, of course, you kind of always dream of happening, and it kind of happened in all the events that we've played together."

"So, for it to happen here, it probably took a little longer than expected, but it's a great feeling. And I'm just more happy with the two points for the team," he said.

Florida acquired Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators on June 23. He recorded his first point as a Panther with an assist in Monday's loss at Buffalo and added an assist on Tuesday for a four-point night.

Matthew Tkachuk's record period

Matthew Tkachuk assisted on all three of his brother's goals and also set up Carter Verhaeghe's power-play goal later in the second, giving him four assists in the period, a Panthers franchise record. He added a fifth assist in the third on Sam Reinhart's power-play tip.

The five assists and five points tied his NHL career highs, and the AP reported the five assists matched the Panthers' single-game club record. Matthew Tkachuk has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) during a six-game point streak.

The brothers each had four points in the second period, making them the third and fourth players in Panthers history with a four-point period, according to the AP. The NHL noted the Tkachuks became the third set of brothers in the past 40 years to each record four or more points in the same game, joining Daniel and Henrik Sedin and Peter and Anton Stastny.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice said he was not worried about Brady Tkachuk's slow start.

"I've liked his game," Maurice said. "Our power play struggled for a little bit and then it just needed something to go a certain way for him. There's some chemistry there, you know. He and his brother played together their whole lives as kids, and there's something there for sure."

Defenseman Seth Jones, who finished with four assists, said Brady Tkachuk had earned the result. "He's had a great year so far, so it's nice to see him get rewarded for doing the small things, every game, the little things that stand out," Jones said.

Major penalty swings it

Columbus forward Mathieu Olivier was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for slashing Uvis Balinskis at 13:44 of the second period. Verhaeghe scored on the ensuing power play at 17:50 to make it 4-1.

"Too many penalties, not good enough on the kill. They picked us apart," Olivier said. "I think definitely my penalty didn't help at all."

Reinhart pushed the lead to 5-1 at 1:20 of the third, tipping a Matthew Tkachuk shot on the power play. The AP reported it was Reinhart's 86th career power-play goal with Florida, a franchise record. Verhaeghe scored again at 3:28 for a 6-1 lead.

Columbus got two goals 22 seconds apart late in the third, from Denton Mateychuk at 13:47 and Cole Sillinger at 14:09, before Reinhart scored into an empty net at 17:43 for the final margin. Reinhart finished with two goals and an assist and, according to the AP, extended his point streak against Columbus to a franchise-record 12 games. Damon Severson had two assists for the Blue Jackets, who have allowed seven power-play goals in 18 opportunities this season, per the AP.

Columbus coach Rick Bowness tied the performance to a 5-3 loss at St. Louis on Saturday. "We beat ourselves tonight," Bowness said. "So, you have to hope, you've got to believe, that that performance tonight will embarrass them enough to stop this, right?"

Schmid steady in net

Akira Schmid made 24 saves for Florida, one night after he replaced Jacob Markstrom following the first period of the loss in Buffalo. At the other end, Cam Talbot allowed six goals on 23 shots before Jet Greaves replaced him in the third period. Greaves made four saves.

Florida has now won 11 of its 13 games against Columbus (11-2-0) since the start of the 2022-23 season, according to the AP.

Panthers' injury list

The Panthers are still missing several regulars. Barkov is on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury and is expected to miss about six to eight weeks, according to ESPN's injury report. Marchand has been on injured reserve since he was hurt in the Oct. 6 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Forward Jonah Gadjovich is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury, and ESPN lists goaltender Markstrom and defenseman Radko Gudas as out.

What's next

The Panthers return to South Florida to host the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise. Columbus hosts the New York Rangers on Saturday.