Panthers score 5, Bobrovsky makes 27 saves in shutout win against Jets

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Sergei Bobrovsky made 27 saves, and Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart each had three points for the Florida Panthers in a 5-0 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.

“I thought the guys did a great job,” said Bobrovsky, who earned his 45th NHL shutout and 12th with the Panthers. “It was a complete game. All four lines were rolling. It was fun to be a part of.”

Barkov had a goal and two assists, Reinhart had three assists, and Gustav Forsling had two assists for the Panthers (12-5-1), who had lost consecutive games to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday and Thursday.

Florida coach Paul Maurice, who coached the Jets for parts of nine seasons before resigning in 2021, got his first win against Winnipeg after going 0-3-1 the past two seasons.

“We finally did not play terrible,’’ Maurice said. “In the four games we played against these guys, we have not been very good. This was not about Winnipeg for us; it was about our past two games and righting the ship.”

Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves for the Jets (15-3-0), who have lost consecutive games after the best start to a season in NHL history (15 wins in 16 games).

“What we did was make mistakes against the Stanley Cup champions,’’ Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “They're a team that's lost two games at home here in their building against New Jersey. We knew they weren't going to be giving us any freebies. We made mistakes and they put them in the back of the net.’’

Mackie Samoskevich gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 14:59 of the first period, redirecting Forsling’s shot through traffic in front of the net.

Florida scored three goals in the second period to take a commanding 4-0 lead into the third.

Nate Schmidt, who spent the past three seasons with the Jets, made it 2-0 at 2:07 when he put in a rebound off Sam Bennett’s shot.

“I disconnected for a second,’’ Schmidt said of the goal. “I was watching Bennett as a fan. I stopped skating for a second, thought ‘Wow! Nice play! Oh, I should probably be on there.’ But it felt good, especially at that time of the game. It was still a tight game at that point. To get something like that feels good, and it really feels good after our past couple of games.’’

Evan Rodrigues pushed it to 3-0 at 12:21, finishing off a rebound in front of the net.

Barkov tucked in a backhand at the top of the crease off a short-handed 2-on-1 rush to make it 4-0 at 14:36.

“Winnipeg got off to a great start, and there is a reason they are the first team in the League right now,’’ Barkov said. “They showed us that in the first period. But we stuck with it. [Bobrovsky] made some unbelievable saves, kept us in the game. Then, we took over in the second.’’

Dmitry Kulikov tapped in a centering pass from Barkov for the 5-0 final at 3:23 of the third period.

The series between these two teams now heads to Winnipeg, where the Jets will play host to the Panthers on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, SCRIPPS).

“I think we got away from certain aspects that make us good,’’ Winnipeg defenseman Dylan DeMelo said. “I think you've got to give them a lot of credit, too. I thought they played a really strong game. Nothing that we were surprised about but I think things that we'll definitely be aware for next time, a good blueprint for us to see what we can expect on Tuesday. We need to bring it. Now it's our turn, in our building, so I think we're excited to get home and play them again."

NOTES: Reinhart extended his point streak to 10 games (eight goals, eight assists) for the second time in his career with the Panthers. He had a 13-game point streak last season. … Barkov extended his assist streak to eight games (13 assists) and tied the second-longest such stretch in franchise history (Jonathan Huberdeau in 2021-22 and Olli Jokinen in 2005-06). Huberdeau’s 10-game assist streak is the franchise record. … Barkov’s 13 short-handed goals are second in franchise history behind Radek Dvorak (16).