In Columbus Thursday, the visiting Florida Panthers ran into a reality check on their playoff chase with a 4-0 loss to the Blue Jackets.
“It was one of our most complete games,” Columbus coach John Tortorella said. “The first period they were fast. We gave them too much ice in the neutral zone that allowed 
them to generate speed.”
Sergei Bobrovsky made 33 saves to help the Jackets win their 10th straight game.
“We were disciplined. We were smart with the puck,” Bobrovsky said. “We played as a unit, one group on defense and offense. Forwards made smart decisions in the [defensive] zone and the [defensemen] gave them the puck.”
Columbus improved to 42-28-5.
Cam Atkinson, Sonny Milano and Seth Jones scored early I the middle frame and Thomas Vanek added an empty-netter in the third.
“It was a five-minute lapse in our game,” Roberto Luongo said of the second period outburst by Columbus. “That was the ballgame. I thought the other 55 minutes was pretty evenly played, good playoff hockey. It was good back and forth, a pretty intense game.
“They came out strong in the second, and as a team we weren’t ready for it. It’s tough to come back on a team like that.”
The Panthers dropped to 37-26-7 with the loss and were unable to gain ground in their chase of the New Jersey Devils.
“We’ve been a good team all year facing adversity and bouncing back after a game like this” Florida head coach Bob Boughner said.
[WATCH:Â All Panthers vs. Blue Jackets highlights]
Luongo made 29 saves in the loss.
“We didn’t match much in this game. It felt like it was our fault, but Columbus was on us all the time and didn’t give us space and time. Of course, it’s all about us. We needed to step up this game but we didn’t,” Aleksander Barkov said after the loss.
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