SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe and Anton Lundell each scored twice, MacKenzie Weegar tied a career-best with four points and the NHL-leading Florida Panthers scored early and often on the way to beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 9-2 on Saturday night.
Aaron Ekblad had three assists for Florida. Weegar, Jonathan Huberdeau, Anthony Duclair, Sam Bennett and Patric Hornqvist all had goals for the Panthers, who improved the NHL’s best record to 26-7-5 and best home mark to 21-3-0.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 shots against his former club, and Ekblad had two assists for Florida.
Elvis Merzlikins made 11 saves on 15 shots for Columbus, and Joonas Korpisalo stopped 31 of 36 shots in relief. Gustav Nyquist and Boone Jenner each scored in the third period.
Florida was coming off a 7-1 win over Dallas on Friday and wasted no time keeping the goal barrage going, going up 2-0 in the first 2:07 against Columbus and chasing Merzlikins by scoring four times in the first 13:28.
It was 4-0 after one period, 6-0 after two and the flurry never stopped. The Panthers had scored at least nine goals in goal game exactly once in their first 2,193 contests — a 10-5 win over Boston on Nov. 26, 1997.
They’ve now done it twice in their last eight games, Saturday’s win preceded by a 9-3 rout of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Dec. 30.
STREAKING
Florida has won six consecutive home games by at least three goals, extending the longest such streak in franchise history. Boston had a six-game streak of three-goal home wins last season, but before that, the most recent one had been by Philadelphia late in the 1995-96 season.
NOTES: It was the second time Columbus has given up at least six goals in a game against Florida. The other was a 7-6 Blue Jackets overtime win on March 9, 2001. … The Panthers will finish with a winning home record for a fifth consecutive season, something the franchise has done only once before. … Weegar’s other four-point game (1-3-4) against Carolina on April 24, 2021.
UP NEXT
Blue Jackets: Visit Philadelphia on Thursday, the first meeting between those clubs this season.
Panthers: Visit Calgary on Tuesday, the start of a five-game road trip through western Canada and the debut game in Seattle.
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