Sam Bennett scored twice, including the winner, as the Florida Panthers topped the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 on Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena.
Bennett opened the scoring on the power play at 2:00 of the second period, with assists from Anton Lundell and Seth Jones. Lars Eller made it 2-0 at 4:17 of the second period. Ivan Provorov pulled the Blue Jackets within 2-1 at 19:41 of the second period.
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Bennett made it 3-1 at 14:29 of the third period. Sam Reinhart made it 4-1 into an empty net at 17:44 of the third period.
For Florida, Bennett had two goals, Lundell had two assists, Aaron Ekblad had two assists, Eller and Reinhart each scored, and Jacob Markstrom stopped 37 of 38 shots.
For Columbus, Provorov scored, and Cam Talbot stopped 24 of 27 shots.
Columbus outshot Florida 38-28. Florida went 1 for 1 on the power play, and Columbus went 0 for 1. The Panthers improved to 10-7-2. The Blue Jackets fell to 7-9-0.
The Panthers are seventh in the Eastern Conference. The Blue Jackets sit 15th in the Eastern Conference and have lost two straight. The Panthers lead the season series 2-0. Florida won the first meeting 7-3 on Oct. 13.
The Panthers next host the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Blue Jackets next host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7:00 p.m. ET.
