Panthers Cash the Better Looks in Columbus
Florida won this by creating the cleaner chances and letting their finishers go to work. The numbers back it up: the Panthers’ looks were worth 3.47 expected goals to Columbus’ 2.90 — expected goals estimates how many goals chances usually produce.
The shot quality edge showed up in who did damage. Matthew Tkachuk stacked five assists in 17:20, repeatedly teeing up dangerous lanes. Sam Reinhart fired seven shots and scored twice, Brady Tkachuk completed the hat trick, and Carter Verhaeghe added two more. Even the near-misses tilted high value: there were two pings off iron — Anton Lundell for Florida and Cole Sillinger for Columbus — the kind of looks that often go.
Goaltending swung it. Cam Talbot allowed six on 23 shots and posted -3.6 goals saved above expected — a measure of how many more went in than an average night would allow — while Florida piled on. Special teams mattered too: the Panthers went 4-for-6 on the power play.
For Florida, this is the template: balanced threats finishing chances with Tkachuk driving the pass. For Columbus, the finishing was there in moments, but breakdowns and the crease cost them.
