The Panthers, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, are nine points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with 17 games remaining for each.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not what we expect. It\u2019s certainly tough to be this far out at this time of the year,\u201d Reinhart said. \u201cBut it says a lot about us that we\u2019re able to hang in there and rattle off a few.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reinhart also had an assist, Sam Bennett<\/a> scored, and Sergei Bobrovsky<\/a>\u00a0made 30 saves for the Panthers (33-29-3). Defenseman Mike Benning<\/a>\u00a0got the secondary assist on the game-winner in his NHL debut.<\/p>\n \u201cSergei got us to the third period, no doubt about that,\u201d Florida coach Paul Maurice said. \u201cHe was the difference-maker.\u201d<\/p>\n Bobrovsky made 14 saves in the first period.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a good game, saw the puck well, and there was lots of action,\u201d Bobrovsky said. \u201cOne of those nights where I had a little more extra work than usual. It was a great game. Happy with the win.\u201d<\/p>\n Fantilli scored, and Merzlikins made 19 saves for the Blue Jackets (33-21-11), who extended their point streak to eight games (4-0-4).<\/p>\n \u201cVery happy with the way we played,\u201d Columbus coach Rick Bowness said. \u201cWe gave up 16 shots on net for 60 minutes. We dominated the game. Give [Bobrovsky] credit; he was the difference in the game, simple as that. We had our chances in overtime and missed the net by inches. They get the power play.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut overall, for 60 minutes, very happy with what we saw. Sometimes the goalie is better than your shooters. That\u2019s the case tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n