Tkachuk brothers put up nine points in Panthers' 7-3 rout of Columbus

Panthers 7, Blue Jackets 3. The power play finally stopped being a punchline, and the Tkachuk brothers turned Nationwide Arena into a family reunion.

Florida arrived on the back end of a back-to-back, carrying two straight regulation losses, and played the first 20 minutes exactly like a tired team. Then the second period happened: four goals, three of them from Brady, and the Jackets never got within shouting distance again.

How it went

Columbus struck first. Kent Johnson scored at 14:11 and the Jackets led 1-0 after one, even though Florida had a 10-8 edge in shots.

Brady tied it 2:27 into the second off a feed from Matthew. He scored on the power play at 6:00, then again on another man advantage at 10:30, completing a natural hat trick in 8:03. Carter Verhaeghe made it 4-1 on the power play at 17:50, with both brothers collecting assists.

Sam Reinhart opened the third with a power-play goal at 1:20. Verhaeghe added his second at 3:28, which ended Cam Talbot's evening after 17 saves on 23 shots. Denton Mateychuk and Cole Sillinger scored 22 seconds apart late, and Reinhart finished it into an empty net at 17:43.

Three things from Columbus:

1. The power play finally showed up. Florida went 4-for-6. By our count the unit entered the night 3-for-32 through six games, so it more than doubled its season total in one evening.

Seth Jones quarterbacked the top unit and finished with four assists in 23:14, the most ice time on the team. Reinhart's power-play goal was the 86th of his Panthers career, extending the franchise record he took over on Monday.

2. Brady is officially a Panther now. He came in without a goal through six games. He leaves with three goals, an assist, and a spot as the eighth Panther ever to score a natural hat trick.

Matthew had five assists on a single shot and stretched his point streak to six straight games, by our count. Paul Maurice kept the brothers together with Sam Bennett through the losing stretch, and this performance is the reason.

3. Schmid did enough, but the third was sloppy. Akira Schmid made 24 saves on 27 shots for his first win as a Panther. Columbus still outshot Florida 14-9 in the third period and scored twice in 22 seconds after the result was settled. Up five or not, that's a habit you don't want following you home.

Ferda play of the night:

Garnet Hathaway delivered seven hits in 10:49, and nobody else in the building had more than four. Second night of a back-to-back, fourth line, nothing on the scoresheet, and he still finished every check within reach. That's the shift the room remembers even when the highlight package forgets it.

What they said

"There's some chemistry there," Maurice said. "He and his brother played together their whole lives as kids, and there's something there for sure."

"It's pretty cool," Brady said. "It's something that, of course, you've always dreamed of happening."

Seth Jones on the goalie: "He was a wall in there for us, especially when he needed those big saves early on."

Pabs' read

Maurice leaned heavily on his centers. Lars Eller played 16:31 after 12.6 minutes Monday in Buffalo, and Anton Lundell went 18:34 after 14.9, by our count. With Barkov unavailable, that's the shape of this lineup for now: more responsibility for the middle, and the Tkachuks driving everything else.

Florida also closed as a +114 underdog, and the 5.5 total cleared by four and a half goals. (21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.)

One win doesn't erase a miserable week. But a power play that actually converts changes the math on every close game ahead, and this team has plenty of those coming. Dale.

Next: Vancouver visits Sunrise on Thursday at 7 PM ET.