. Luis Sardinas and Choo had RBI doubles in the fifth, both on

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Columbus Blue Jackets wanted their last home game in a month to be memorable. Linemates Ryan Johansen and Boone Jenner each had a goal and an assist in the first period, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 36 saves to lead the Blue Jackets past the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Saturday night. It was Columbus final home game until March 1, due to four road games and the NHL Olympic hiatus. "We definitely wanted to leave Columbus on a good note," Johansen said of the impending West Coast road trip that will lead into the break. "Now were heading out with three really tough games. We wanted to finish this off well, and obviously we did." After Brad Boyes cut Floridas deficit to 2-1 early in the second period, Nick Foligno and Mark Letestu scored for the Blue Jackets. Nathan Horton had two assists in the opening 20 minutes. In their last 13 games, the Blue Jackets won eight in a row, lost three straight and now have won the past two. Down 3-1 going into the third, the Panthers dominated the pace but Bobrovsky made several big stops to maintain the two-goal lead. He improved to 11-2 in his last 13 starts. "Our goalie was very good," coach Todd Richards said. "We were a very opportunistic group." The Blue Jackets considered it a must-win game, because they started the day in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division, one point out of third place and one point out of a wild-card spot. In a crisp first period, the Blue Jackets line of Johansen, Jenner and Horton -- ages 21, 20 and 28, respectively -- played particularly well. After getting a pass from Horton, Johansen carried the puck from the right wing and waited patiently for an opening with Jenner on his wing. As Johansen ran out of room, he wristed a shot that goalie Tim Thomas stopped. But as Thomas, lying on his stomach, tried to gather the puck, he flicked it with his stick under his glove. Jenner crashed the net and jammed the puck into an empty net at 15:33 for his ninth goal. "I blocked it, and then I went to pull it back with my stick, and my glove was caught on the lip of the net," said Thomas, who had 26 saves as the Panthers lost their third in a row. "Thats bad luck. We cant afford that. The team needs me to keep us as close as possible. Were a little bit of a fragile team right now. That was terrible." Just 2 1/2 minutes later, Jenner ended up with the puck off a pass from Horton and skated parallel to the goal line to the left wing. Jenner threw a blind, behind-the-back pass to the crease where Johansen was alone for his 22nd. "Boone works so hard and creates so many turnovers," said Horton, a big off-season free-agent signing from Boston who played six years for the Panthers. "And Joey (Johansen), when he has the puck, good things happen." Florida dominated the opening minutes of the second, outshooting the Blue Jackets 8-1. That pressure paid off when Boyes scored his 15th goal. The puck went in off the stick of Columbus defenceman David Savard. After Floridas Nick Bjugstad struck a post with a wrist shot that would have tied the game, the Blue Jackets pulled away. Foligno skated with the puck through the neutral zone, and from near the top of the right circle unloaded a snap shot that appeared to handcuff Thomas and trickled through his pads. He dived with his stick to try to prevent it from going over the line, but was too late. "They got a missed puck that bobbled through," Florida coach Peter Horachek said. "Then they had two that were blindly kind of thrown behind themselves that went to people. Our chances were point blank but we didnt capitalize." NOTES: Columbus LW Blake Comeau, still hurting from a sprained ligament in his left knee, was scratched for the second straight game. ... It was the first meeting between the teams in almost two years. Columbus had won the last five matchups. ... Florida will play two of its final three games at home before the Olympic break. ... Savard returned after missing four games with an illness. ... Columbus has won the last six meetings with the Panthers, dating to 2007, and is 9-4 in the series. Cheap NCAA Jerseys Authentic ." Bach is in Rome for the European Olympic Committees general assembly and meetings with Pope Francis. He also visited with Italian Premier Enrico Letta. "The prime minister appeared to be interested in a bid from Italy for 24, because he has realized that the games can serve as a catalyst for development for a city and a country," Bach told The Associated Press on Saturday. Replica NCAA Jerseys . Louis Blues brought in the premier unrestricted free agent centre, and did it without breaking the bank. https://www.chinajerseysncaa.us/ . -- Washington Capitals forward Brooks Laich is expected to miss the rest of the regular season after having an operation on a groin muscle. Wholesale NCAA Jerseys . Jets head coach Paul Maurice made the announcement Saturday following the morning skate and confirmed Al Montoya will start in goal against the Dallas Stars on Sunday. Clearance NCAA Jerseys . HABS HEADED TO CONFERENCE FINAL The Montreal Canadiens scored early in Game Seven, built a lead and protected it well on their way to a 3-1 series-clinching win over the Boston Bruins. While this game or series isnt necessarily a referendum on the value of fourth lines, the Canadiens certainly benefitted from production lower down their forward depth chart. ARLINGTON, Texas -- Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington decided it was time to shake up his lineup a bit. With a few switches in the batting order, and an impressive performance by young starter Nick Tepesch, the Rangers ended their longest losing streak in nearly nine years. Adrian Beltre homered and Shin-Soo Choo had three hits in his return to the leadoff spot while Tepesch allowed only three singles over 7 1-3 scoreless innings, and the Rangers beat the Minnesota Twins 5-4 on Friday night. "He was outstanding. We needed a well-pitched game and he gave it to us," said Washington, who liked his lineup. "Well run the same one out there tomorrow and see what happens." The Rangers went into the opener of the weekend series mired in its first eight-game losing streak since August 2005. "Its nice to end any negative streak," said Beltre, who added a sacrifice fly in the eighth that proved to be the margin of victory. "Its one of those things, you dont want to throw any at-bat away." Minnesota has lost its last nine road games, including a three-game sweep at the Los Angeles Angels before getting to Texas. The Twins came up short after scoring four runs in the ninth off Texas closer Joakim Soria, making only his second appearance since June 14. Choo led off for the first time in 18 games while Carlos Pena, in only his fourth game back with the Rangers, took over the No. 3 spot where Choo had hit .149 (10 for 67) since June 7. And Washingtons change paid off immediately when Choo had a leadoff single in the first and scored on Beltres ninth homer, which just cleared the fence and landed in the Rangers bullpen in right-centre field. "I said earlier that doesnt make a difference. I knew this would happen after the game and I was sure people would ask me about it, but its not ... I dont think anything changed as far as approach," Choo said about leading off, though he acknowledged thhat, "Im a little more comfortable there, Ive done it for the last two years.dddddddddddd" Tepesch (3-3) struck out five, walked two and hit two batters, while matching his longest major league start. He has won all three of his career starts against the Twins, allowing only three earned runs in 20 2-3 innings. "Just able to command all four of my pitches, and just commanding them in the zone and out of the zone," Tepesch said. Kevin Correia (4-9) allowed four runs and six hits over six innings. The right-hander, who struck out three and walked two, had given up only two earned runs over 18 innings his previous three starts. Jason Frasor and Neal Cotts each got an out in the eighth after Tepesch gave up a one-out hit to Minnesota leadoff hitter Brian Dozer. Jorge Polancos two-run triple in the ninth for his first major league hit that made it 5-4. Soria, who had given up just one earned over 20 2-3 innings his previous 22 games, then got a strikeout and grounder to end the game. Luis Sardinas and Choo had RBI doubles in the fifth, both on balls that left fielder Josh Willingham tried to catch. Sardinas hit a sinking liner down the left-field line that rolled into the corner after Willingham made a diving attempt to catch it. Choo hit a flyball that glanced off Willinghams glove when he ran into the 14-foot fence. "Diving full out down the line, diving up against the wall in left field," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "What cant you like about that? Hes trying to make a play." NOTES: Rangers ace Yu Darvish (7-4, 2.62 ERA) is scheduled to start Saturday. He lost his last two starts, allowing 12 runs (eight earned) over 11 innings. ... Phil Hughes (8-3) pitches the middle game for the Twins. ... 1B/OF Brad Snyder declined an outright assignment to Triple-A Round Rock and took free agency Friday, three days after the Rangers designated him for assignment. ' ' '