Tame a fighting panda with a red-hot blue jacket.

Ivan Provorov had a goal with two assists and Mathieu Olivier scored twice as the host Columbus Blue Jackets earned their third straight win, 4-2, over the brawling Florida Panthers on Thursday night.

Boone Jenner also scored and Jet Greaves made 26 saves for the Blue Jackets, who are 14-2-1 since Jan. 11 and just outside an Eastern Conference playoff position. While star Jack Walensky has missed the last three games due to illness, undefeated Columbus posted an 0-6-3 slide against Florida but was outscored nearly 3-0.

The Panthers finally got on the board with 10:52 left in the third period. Aaron Ekblad’s shot from just inside the left edge of the blue line gave a well-positioned Niko Mikkola enough puck to veer inside past Greaves.

Then, with a two-man advantage that drew a goalie, the Panthers peppered Greaves and Sam Bennett was able to convert with 5:16 left in regulation to make it a one-goal game.

With 2:55 to play, Florida appeared to have tied the contest on a Gustav Forsling tally, but Columbus was challenged and the goal was given up on review for goaltender interference.

Olivier added an empty-netter to give Columbus its first win over Florida since Nov. 20, 2022.

Daniil Tarasov made 24 saves for the Panthers, whose playoff hopes continue to fade after a four-game losing streak while stuck in a 2-9-0 rut.

Columbus scored 5:08 into the contest. On the first power play of the game, Provorov got through some traffic in the slot and drove the puck past a somewhat obscured Tarasov.

The Blue Jackets were up 2-0 with 9:10 left in the second period. They kept the puck in Florida territory, and Egor Zamula sent the puck toward the net near the left point and glanced at Olivier.

Columbus extended its lead to just 1:41 into the third. On a brilliant end-line pass from Kent Johnson, Jenner opened the slot and sent a laser in for Tarasov, who had missed the previous contest with a lower-body injury.

–Field level media