FLORIDA PANTHERS at COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
JAN. 28, 2021
Nationwide Arena – COLUMBUS, OH
| FLORIDA PANTHERS | COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS |
| 2 | 3 |
(SHOOTOUT)
- The Panthers have earned at least one point in each of their first four games (3-0-1), tied for the second-longest point streak to start a season in franchise history.
- Florida mounted a third-period comeback to force overtime for the third consecutive game.
- Eetu Luostarinen notched two points (1-1-2). He has produced four points (2-2-4) through FLA’s first four games.
- Carter Verhaeghe tallied a goal in his third consecutive game. He has recorded at least one point in each of the Panthers first four games (4-2-6), and he is the second Panther to register a three-game goal streak this season (Patric Hornqvist, 4-1-5 from Jan. 17 – Jan. 26).
- Carter Verhaeghe’s four-game point streak ties Kris Versteeg (3-4-7 in 4 GP, Oct. 8 – Oct. 17, 2011) for third-longest point streak by a Panthers player to begin their tenure with the club in franchise history.
- Markus Nutivaara made his Panthers debut. He registered an assist on Eetu Luostarinen’s goal, his first point as a Panther.
- Chris Driedger stopped 29 of 31 CBJ shots in regulation and overtime. He has denied 52 of the 55 shots he has faced this season over two appearances for a .945 save percentage.
- Noel Acciari registered a game-high five hits.
- Brett Connolly played in his 500th NHL game.
NHL.com Final Score: FLA 2, CBJ 3 [Shootout]
PANTHERS POSTGAME QUOTES – JAN. 28, 2021
Head Coach Joel Quenneville
“Real good second period, I thought we were ordinary in the first…Third was kind of both ways and overtime both teams had some quality stuff to look at.”
“I thought Lousty (forward Eetu Luostarinen) did a lot of good things tonight he had a big hit in the neutral zone and obviously scoring was nice, Frankie (forward Frank Vatrano) gives us energy. He hunts pucks down. He’s a hard, tenacious forechecker.”
“I thought (goaltender Chris Driedger) was real good. He was rock solid tonight, would have been nice to get him a win.”
Defenseman Aaron Ekblad
“On the road against a team that we know works hard, we came in and made two great comebacks in the third period. We really showed our resilience as a team. There’s a lot of positives to take out of it.”
“There’s a lot to work on, no doubt, and we could be happy about it (the seven points in eight games), but not satisfied.”
“At the end of the day never being satisfied is what makes you better and makes you more successful.”
Goaltender Chris Driedger
“That was a gritty effort there. (Columbus) came out a little bit harder than they did yesterday. They definitely upped their game. Just a gritty, hard-fought game.”
“Through our first four games, getting seven out of eight points is a huge start for us.”
“I thought my first period I was a little all over the place but I came back after the first intermission, took a few breaths, and got back to what I do.”
