Brady Tkachuk turned his Florida debut into a family showcase Tuesday, scoring a natural hat trick in the second period while brother Matthew set up each goal in the Panthers’ 7-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.
The three-goal burst was Brady Tkachuk’s first scoring output of the season and the fourth hat trick of his NHL career. He added an assist as Florida climbed out of a 1-0 hole and snapped a rough stretch in which it had dropped four of five games.
Quick facts
- Florida defeated Columbus 7-3 at Nationwide Arena.
- Brady Tkachuk scored three straight Panthers goals in 8:03 during the second period.
- Matthew Tkachuk recorded five assists, matching his NHL personal best in both assists and points.
- Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe each scored twice for Florida.
- Akira Schmid stopped 24 shots for the Panthers.
Columbus struck first at 14:11 of the opening period when Kent Johnson put the Blue Jackets ahead 1-0. The Panthers did not get on the board until early in the second, then took control in a hurry.
Brady Tkachuk tied it at 2:27 from the high slot. He put Florida in front on the power play at 6:00, then buried another man-advantage chance at 10:30 to finish the natural hat trick.
Matthew Tkachuk assisted on all three goals. The five-assist night extended his point streak to six games, during which he has collected three goals and seven assists.
Florida acquired Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators on June 23. He had picked up his first Panthers point, an assist, in Monday’s 5-3 loss at Buffalo before breaking through as a scorer in Columbus.
Carter Verhaeghe made it 4-1 at 17:50 of the second period, converting on a power play during Mathieu Olivier’s five-minute major for slashing Uvis Balinskis.
The Panthers kept pressing after the intermission. Sam Reinhart redirected a Matthew Tkachuk shot on the power play at 1:20 of the third, and Verhaeghe scored again at 3:28 to stretch the margin to 6-1.
Columbus produced a late response through Denton Mateychuk at 13:47 and Cole Sillinger 22 seconds later. Reinhart closed the scoring with an empty-net goal at 17:43.
Reinhart finished with two goals and an assist, while Verhaeghe had two goals. Defenseman Seth Jones supplied four assists for Florida, which moved to 3-2-2.
Schmid handled 24 shots in the Panthers crease. Columbus starter Cam Talbot surrendered six goals on 23 shots before Jet Greaves entered at 16:36 of the third and made four saves.
Damon Severson posted two assists for Columbus, which fell to 2-3-0 and has now lost three of its past four games.
