Make it three wins in a row for the Blue Jackets, who staved off a late comeback to down the Florida Panthers 4-2 on March 5 at Nationwide Arena.
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The win, combined with the Boston Bruins‘ 6-3 loss at the Nashville Predators, moves the Blue Jackets (72 points) to within one point of the Bruins (73 points) for the East’s second wild-card spot. It also moved the Jackets to within three points of the Pittsburgh Penguins (75 points) and New York Islanders (75 points) for second and third, respectively, in the Metropolitan Division.
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NHL highlights of Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers game
Fans catch foam pucks from Brian Hall of 529 CollegeAdvantage before the game against the Florida Panthers at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, March 5, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
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NHL highlights of Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers game
Fans catch foam pucks from Brian Hall of 529 CollegeAdvantage before the game against the Florida Panthers at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, March 5, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
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NHL highlights of Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers game
Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Kirill Marchenko (86) warms up before the game against the Florida Panthers at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, March 5, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
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NHL highlights of Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers game
Fans wait for warm ups before the game against the Florida Panthers at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, March 5, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
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NHL highlights of Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers game
Columbus Blue Jackets warm up before the game against the Florida Panthers at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, March 5, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
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NHL highlights of Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers game
Fans catch foam pucks from Brian Hall of 529 CollegeAdvantage before the game against the Florida Panthers at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, March 5, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
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NHL highlights of Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers game
A fans holds up Sour Patch Kids to the Columbus Blue Jackets before the game against the Florida Panthers at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, March 5, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
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NHL highlights of Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers game
The Ohio State Alumni Band performs before the game against the Florida Panthers at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, March 5, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
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NHL highlights of Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers game
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov (9) takes the ice before the game against the Florida Panthers at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, March 5, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
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NHL highlights of Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers game
A Michigan fan cheers for the Ohio State Alumni Band before the game against the Florida Panthers at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, March 5, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
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NHL highlights of Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers game
Fans catch foam pucks from Brian Hall of 529 CollegeAdvantage before the game against the Florida Panthers at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, March 5, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
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NHL highlights of Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers game
A fan holds a sign “Bob is My Heart” before the game against the Florida Panthers at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, March 5, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
Pittsburgh lost 5-1 to the Buffalo Sabres and the Islanders lost to the Los Angeles Kings.
Behind the Jackets, the Philadelphia Flyers lost 3-0 to the Utah Mammoth to remain at 67 points and the Toronto Maple Leafs (65 points) failed to keep pace by losing 6-2 to the New York Rangers.
Florida appeared to have tied it 3-3 on a shot from the point by Gustav Forsling with 2:55 left in the third period, nearly completing a comeback from a 3-0 deficit, but the goal was overturned on a Columbus challenge for goaltender interference.
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Replays showed Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist blocked Blue Jackets goalie Jet Greaves (26 saves) from getting over to make the save. Mathieu Olivier then scored his second of two goals in the game into an empty net to seal it for the Blue Jackets (32-21-8).
“Obviously, there was some contact there,” Greaves said. “You never know how those are going to go … who initiated it, whether there was a push or not. But I was happy when it went our way and it was a great job by our video guys. I was happy it was no goal.”
The Blue Jackets got captain Boone Jenner back after a one-game absence due to a lower-body injury and played without defensemen Zach Werenski (illness) and Dante Fabbro (lower-body injury). They also finished the game with only 11 forwards after losing left wing Mason Marchment to a lower-body injury in the second period.
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov (9) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal in the first period at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, March 5, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
Werenski missed his third straight game, while Fabbro was out with an issue that happened in the Jackets’ 3-2 victory March 3 over the Nashville Predators.
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Ivan Provorov, Olivier and Jenner scored the first three goals for the Blue Jackets, who improved to 3-1-1 since returning from the NHL’s Olympic break. Provorov added two assists for a three-point game and even made a save in the second period to keep it 1-0 with Greaves caught outside the left post.
“The veterans did a great job (without Werenski and Fabbro),” Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness said. “Provy was great, Goody (Erik Gudbranson) was great and Sevo (Damon Severson) was great. I give the (defensemen) a lot of credit tonight because we’re missing two of our top six. Jake (Christiansen) did a wonderful job, (Egor) Zamula did a good job. They all stepped up tonight.”
Niko Mikkola and Sam Bennett scored for the Panthers, who started former Blue Jackets goalie Daniil Tarasov (23 saves) in his first visit to Columbus since being traded to Florida on June 26, 2025.
The Blue Jackets scored the game’s first two goals off long shots by defensemen.
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov (9) shoots the puck in the first period at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, March 5, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
Provorov scored the first 5:08 into the game, giving the Jackets a 1-0 lead on a power play by sending a shot from the center point through traffic to beat Tarasov for his seventh goal of the season.
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It remained that score until 10:50 into the second, when Olivier made it 2-0 by deflecting a shot by Egor Zamula from the left wall into the net for his 10th goal. It stayed 2-0 to start the third thanks to Greaves and the Blue Jackets’ penalty-kill groups thwarting a Panthers power play with 3:50 left in the second.
Rather than sitting back in a defensive mindset in the third, the Jackets forced the issue early and pushed their lead to 3-0 on Jenner’s goal 1:41 into the period. Getting a pass from Kent Johnson, Jenner beat Tarasov from the slot for his ninth goal of the season.
Mikkola and Bennett scored the next two for the Panthers, cutting it to 3-2 on Mikkola’s deflection of Aaron Ekblad’s shot and Bennett’s wrist shot to cap a late power play.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets top Florida Panthers 4-2