Bennett’s Two Goals Lead Panthers Past Blue Jackets

Florida defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 on November 10, with Sam Bennett scoring twice to help the Panthers end a two-game slide. The victory was Florida’s 12th in its past 13 meetings with Columbus.

Bennett put the Panthers ahead with a power-play goal two minutes into the second period. Lars Eller added another at 4:17, but Ivan Provorov scored for Columbus with 20 seconds remaining in the period, making it 2-1.

Bennett scored again at 14:29 of the third. Matthew Tkachuk assisted, extending his run of games with an assist and a point to five. Sam Reinhart added an empty-net goal at 17:44. That marked his 17th goal and 43rd scoring point over 32 career appearances versus Columbus.

Ekblad recorded three assists, and Lundell contributed two for Florida. Jacob Markstrom made 37 saves, while Cam Talbot stopped 24 shots for Columbus. Florida improved to 6-0-0 when leading after two periods. The Blue Jackets have been outscored 23-8 in second periods this season and are 0-9-0 when behind after two.

Florida is set to host Detroit on Thursday, while Columbus will welcome Tampa Bay that day.