Oct 8, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Jonah Gadjovich (12) looks on after scoring against the Boston Bruins during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/1018e125-b509-4761-aecf-14188a7fd66a.jpeg] Oct 8, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Jonah Gadjovich (12) looks on after scoring against the Boston Bruins during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images) There were a lot of happy faces in Sunrise on Thursday night. The fans were thrilled because the Florida Panthers won their fifth straight game, defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0 at Amerant Bank Arena. Florida’s coaching staff was thrilled because the Panthers played about as good of an all-around game as they could ask for. Collectively, the Cats were quicker, more physical and just overall on top of their game, leaving no space for the Blue Jackets to even move with the puck, let alone set up any kind of organized positive motion. Film sessions will be fun on Friday in Fort Lauderdale. Let’s get to the takeaways: PUT IN THE WORK The Panthers probably slept very well on Thursday night. From top to bottom, every player on Florida’s roster put in an incredible amount of effort against Columbus, making a team that is usually quick and exciting to watch a very boring one. The Blue Jackets had no room to work with the puck, regardless of which zone they found themselves in. Florida was suffocating in the neutral zone, hindering seemingly every attempt by the Blue Jackets to build up any speed and enter the offensive zone. It was textbook Panthers hockey. “We worked hard tonight for this win,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “That wasn't easy. There's a lot of hard work that went into taking two feet of ice away from a team that can be really dangerous off the rush. They don't play a B-S game. They play an honest, hard game, and they’ve got skill, and they compete straight through the game, so I'm happy with the win. It was solid for us.” THE GADJO EFFECT Jonah Gadjovich doesn’t play a ton of minutes. He’s one of Florida’s key bottom six players who is asked to go out there, play his minutes and not make any mistakes. Occasionally, as the Panthers’ resident enforcer, Gadjovich is called upon to drop the gloves and make an impact on a game by pumping up his teammates with a good ol’ fashioned brawl. Boy did he do that on Thursday. Twice. The second of his fights was a big ticket match, as he and fellow tough guy Mathieu Olivier went toe-to-toe, throwing what felt like endless haymakers at one another. It pumped up everyone in the building, and rightly so. “That second fight is two heavyweights, like there isn't anybody on either bench that wants to be involved in that fight, coaches included,” Maurice said with a smile. “That's impressive, what he's willing to do for us.” TOP LINE CHEMISTRY One of Florida’s most dynamic duos is Sasha Barkov and Sam Reinhart. The two have played together for much of this season and have shared time on the power play together for the past several years. This season, the chemistry between Reinhart and Barkov has been off the charts. It was on full display against Columbus as both players finished with a goal and two assists on the night. “They, in all situations, shorthanded as well, they're just so dangerous,” said Maurice. “I think we were able to get them a couple days off the ice for the first time since late January, where they hadn't either had to travel or do something, so we’ll try to build these guys some rest, but not necessarily think about resting them in games. We're running the bench to win these games.” LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Dominant effort by Panthers against Columbus leads to Cats' fifth straight win [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/dominant-effort-by-panthers-against-columbus-leads-to-cats-fifth-straight-win] Vitek Vanecek arrives, Kaapo Kahkonen acquired as Panthers remodel goaltending stable [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/vitek-vanecek-arrives-kaapo-kahkonen-acquired-as-panthers-remodel-goaltending-stable] Florida Panthers acquire center Nico Sturm from San Jose [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/florida-panthers-acquire-center-nico-sturm-from-san-jose] Panthers aim for fifth straight win as playoff hopeful Columbus arrives in Sunrise [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-aim-for-fifth-straight-win-as-playoff-hopeful-columbus-arrives-in-sunrise] Panthers continue fortifying roster, sign forward Jesper Boqvist to 2-year extension [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/panthers-continue-fortifying-roster-sign-forward-jesper-boqvist-to-2-year-extension]
