COLUMBUS — The Columbus Blue Jackets opened the scoring Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena, then watched the Florida Panthers take the game over in a 7-3 loss that left Columbus at 2-3-0 on the young season.
Kent Johnson gave Columbus a 1-0 lead late in the first period. Florida answered in the second, when Brady Tkachuk scored three straight goals in a span of just over eight minutes — a natural hat trick, the fourth of his career — with his brother Matthew assisting on all three. Matthew Tkachuk finished with five assists on the night.
Carter Verhaeghe added a power-play goal late in the second to make it 4-1 during a five-minute major penalty against Columbus forward Mathieu Olivier. Florida finished 4-for-6 on the power play, and Sam Reinhart pushed the lead to 5-1 early in the third before Verhaeghe scored again.
Denton Mateychuk and Cole Sillinger scored 22 seconds apart in the third to cut the margin to 6-3, but Reinhart’s empty-net goal sealed the 7-3 final. Goaltender Cam Talbot allowed six goals on 23 shots before Jet Greaves finished the game for Columbus.
Afterward, Columbus coach Rick Bowness said his team beat itself for the second straight game, pointing to penalties and self-inflicted mistakes the club has to fix.