Steve Mason stifles Panthers with 32 saves in Blue Jackets’ 3-0 win

Mason makes 32 saves in Jackets’ win over Panthers

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jason Chimera scored for the third straight game and Steve Mason stopped 32 shots for his first shutout of the season to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets past the Florida Panthers 3-0 on Wednesday night.

Derick Brassard ended a 14-game scoring drought with a late goal for Columbus, which captured a showdown between teams that had each won just one of their previous nine games.

Samuel Pahlsson added an odd empty-netter with 1:28 left, scoring unassisted while winning a center-ice faceoff.

Mason, who won the Calder Trophy last season while posting 10 shutouts in his rookie year, had given up 13 goals in the Blue Jackets’ three-game losing skid.

The Panthers lost their third in a row overall and fourth straight on the road.

Late in a first period in which the Blue Jackets buzzed the net continually, Chimera broke through. He collected the puck near the halfboards in his own end and skated almost the length of the ice before backhanding a shot goaltender Tomas Vokoun thought he trapped against his chest. The puck slipped from his grasp, and Chimera punched it between his leg pads.

It was the third time Chimera scored goals in three consecutive games. He has never tallied in four straight.

The turning point of the game came midway through the third period when Mason and the Blue Jackets withstood three consecutive Florida power plays.

The Panthers also had 23 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage, but didn’t come close to scoring.

Soon after the Blue Jackets killed off the second penalty, Brassard took a pass from Raffi Torres and skated to the left edge of the net before lifting the puck over Vokoun’s right shoulder. It was the first time Brassard had scored in more than a month.

Columbus also killed another later penalty.

Pahlsson chopped at the puck on the late faceoff, and it slid between the Florida defensemen and into the net.

The win provided a confidence boost to Mason, who came in with a record of 9-8-5. He was 0 for 5 in shootouts, stopping barely half of the one-on-one shots he faced, and was giving up almost 3½ goals a game.

NOTES: The Blue Jackets activated F Derek Dorsett after he missed nine games because of a concussion. … Florida came in 27th in the NHL on the power play and went 0 for 3. … Anton Stralman, who had the second assist on Brassard’s goal, set a career high with his 13th helper. … It was the only meeting of the season between the teams.