Sam Bennett Scores Twice and Jacob Markstrom Makes 37 Saves as the Panthers Beat the Blue Jackets 4-1

Sam Bennett scored twice, Jacob Markstrom made 37 saves, and the Florida Panthers beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 on Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, ending a two-game losing streak.

The win moved Florida to 10-7-2 with 22 points, fifth in the Atlantic Division, according to ESPN standings. It came two days after a 4-1 loss at Boston and three days after a 4-3 loss at Washington in which forward Sandis Vilmanis was injured on a hit by Capitals forward Tom Wilson. Columbus fell to 7-9-0.

Two quick goals in the second

The first period was even, with Florida holding a 10-9 edge in shots and neither goalie allowing a goal. The Panthers broke through early in the second. Columbus center Charlie Coyle was called for tripping Seth Jones 24 seconds into the period, and Bennett converted on the power play at 2:00 with a snap shot, his sixth goal of the season. Anton Lundell and Jones assisted.

Florida struck again 2:17 later. Lars Eller beat Columbus goalie Cam Talbot with a wrist shot at 4:17 for his second goal of the season, with assists from Carter Verhaeghe and Aaron Ekblad.

The Blue Jackets finally solved Markstrom with 19 seconds left in the second period, when defenseman Ivan Provorov scored on a backhand, assisted by Dmitri Voronkov and Valeri Nichushkin. That left Florida ahead 2-1 heading into the third.

Bennett and Reinhart close it out

The third period was tense for most of its length. Bennett was called for interference at 6:41, giving Columbus its only power play of the night, but the Panthers killed it off. Florida's Brady Tkachuk and Columbus center Adam Fantilli went to the box for roughing at 13:00.

Bennett then gave Florida breathing room at 14:29 with a wrist shot for his second goal of the night and seventh of the season. Ekblad picked up his second assist of the game, and Matthew Tkachuk earned his 23rd assist of the season.

With Talbot pulled for an extra attacker, Sam Reinhart scored into the empty net on a backhand at 17:44 for his 10th goal of the season, with Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen assisting. Lundell finished with two assists. Brady Tkachuk and Columbus defenseman Erik Gudbranson each received misconduct penalties at 19:05, leaving Tkachuk with 12 penalty minutes for the night.

Markstrom holds the line

Columbus controlled much of the play after the first period. The Blue Jackets outshot Florida 14-11 in the second and 15-7 in the third as they pressed for the tying goal. The Blue Jackets outshot Florida 38-28 and won 35 of 57 faceoffs, a 61.4 percent rate, according to ESPN's box score. Markstrom stopped 37 of 38 shots for a .974 save percentage, including all three he faced while Florida was shorthanded.

The Panthers also helped their goalie by getting in front of pucks. Florida blocked 16 shots to Columbus' eight, and Jones led everyone with six blocks in 21:48 of ice time. Radko Gudas added three blocks.

The faceoff circle was a problem all night. Bennett played 17:01 and scored twice but won just 1 of 13 draws, and Lundell won 7 of 16. Coyle and Sean Monahan each won 12 faceoffs for Columbus, while Florida's Reinhart split his 12 draws evenly.

The key numbers from the game:

Talbot made 24 saves on 27 shots for Columbus. Zach Werenski played 28:02 for the Blue Jackets and had six shots on goal, as did Provorov.

The Vilmanis injury and a thin lineup

Vilmanis was hurt in the first period of Saturday's game in Washington when Wilson sent him into the boards after he cleared the puck, according to the Panthers and The Hockey News. Wilson was given a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct, and Vilmanis did not return. Panthers coach Paul Maurice said after the game that he would leave the hit to the NHL's Department of Player Safety and that Vilmanis would see another doctor and undergo imaging, The Hockey News reported.

Wilson has been suspended six times in his career. A ruling from the league on the hit had not been reported as of Wednesday morning in the coverage reviewed for this story.

Vilmanis did not play in Boston or Columbus. ESPN's injury report lists him as out with an undisclosed injury. Florida is also playing without captain Aleksander Barkov and forward Brad Marchand, both on injured reserve with knee injuries, and forward Jonah Gadjovich, on injured reserve with a neck injury.

Where Florida stands

The two points kept the Panthers within reach of the Atlantic Division's top group. As of Wednesday, Boston led the division with 27 points, followed by Montreal with 26 and Tampa Bay and Ottawa with 24 each, according to ESPN standings. Florida's 22 points left it two behind the Lightning, its in-state rival, with Buffalo, Toronto and Detroit behind the Panthers.

The scoring has been spread around. Reinhart, Verhaeghe and Brady Tkachuk each have 10 goals, and Matthew Tkachuk has 23 assists, according to the game's box score data. Jones has 18 assists from the blue line. Bennett's two goals on Tuesday gave him seven for the season.

A rough weekend behind them

The weekend losses had stalled a solid stretch for Florida. The Panthers won four of five games from Oct. 25 through Nov. 5 before falling 4-3 in Washington, where Brady Tkachuk scored twice, and 4-1 in Boston, where Verhaeghe had Florida's only goal.

Tuesday's win gave Florida a 2-0 lead in the three-game season series with Columbus. The Panthers also won 7-3 at Nationwide Arena on Oct. 13.

What's next

The Panthers return to Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise to host the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. Florida then goes back on the road for games at St. Louis on Saturday and at Dallas on Sunday before hosting the Edmonton Oilers next Tuesday.