Brady Tkachuk has natural hat trick, brother Matthew has 5 assists as Panthers roll Blue Jackets 7-3

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Brady Tkachuk had a natural hat trick in the second period, his brother Matthew Tkachuk matched a club record with five assists and the Florida Panthers rolled past the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-3 on Tuesday night to snap a two-game skid.

Carter Verhaeghe scored twice and Sam Reinhart added two goals and an assist, extending his point streak against Columbus to a franchise-record 12 games.

Matthew Tkachuk assisted on all three of his brother's goals and had an assist on Verhaeghe's goal in the second for the first four-assist period in Panthers history. He extended his points streak to six games.

Brady Tkachuk became the ninth Panthers player with three goals in a period. He also had four points in the second as the brothers became the third and fourth Florida players with a four-point period.

Seth Jones contributed four assists, and Akira Schmid stopped 24 shots a night after replacing Jacob Markstrom following the first period of the Panthers’ loss at Buffalo.

Kent Johnson, Denton Mateychuk and Cole Sillinger scored for Columbus, and Damon Severson had two assists. The Blue Jackets lost for the third time in four games and have allowed seven power-play goals in 18 opportunities.

Cam Talbot stopped 17 shots before being replaced after allowing his sixth goal at 3:28 of the third period. Jet Greaves made four saves in relief.

Columbus took a 1-0 lead on Johnson's unassisted goal at 14:11 of the first period, but Florida took control from there.

Brady Tkachuk took advantage of a turnover by Carson Soucy in the Florida zone and pulled the Panthers even at 2:27 of the second with his first goal of the season. He added a power-play goal 3 1/2 minutes later and completed his fourth career hat trick, and second against Columbus, with another power-play goal at 10:30.

Mathieu Olivier was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for slashing Uvis Balinskis at 13:44 of the second, leaving Columbus short-handed for five minutes. Verhaeghe scored on the ensuing power play.

Reinhart’s power-play goal 1:20 into the third gave him a Panthers-record 86 career power-play goals.

Columbus made it 6-3 with third-period goals from Mateychuk and Sillinger 22 seconds apart. Reinhart had an empty-netter.

Florida improved to 11-2-0 against Columbus since the start of the 2022-23 season.

Panthers: Host Vancouver on Thursday.

Blue Jackets: Host the New York Rangers on Saturday.

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Conor Garland (83) shoots in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers in Columbus, Ohio, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Linesmen separate Florida Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola (77) and Columbus Blue Jackets center Charlie Coyle (3), who both received roughing penalties, in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Florida Panthers left wing Brady Tkachuk, left, skates the puck in on Buffalo Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen during the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart, left, celebrates with left wing Brady Tkachuk after scoring during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Florida Panthers left wing Brady Tkachuk, right, celebrates his goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets with Seth Jones (3) and Matthew Tkachuk (19) in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani will be in the Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup for Game 3 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night.

Manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday that Ohtani will bat anywhere from second to sixth with the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers losing the first two games of the best-of-seven series.

“He was very convicted that he is onto something mechanically (with his swing),” Roberts said. “He was adamant that he can help us. He’s well enough to help us win a baseball game, so that’s all I needed to hear.”

Ohtani is hitting .150 (3 for 20) over six postseason games. He has seven strikeouts, three walks and one stolen base with no home runs, no RBIs and an OPS of .411.

He hasn’t homered since Aug. 18 at Colorado.

Ohtani admitted before the NLDS against Atlanta that he’s not 100% healthy from right biceps and left knee issues. He has appeared visibly uncomfortable at the plate while flailing at pitches.

“The symptoms have subdued a lot,” Ohtani said Tuesday through a translator. “The symptoms shouldn’t be the reason why I can’t hit, and even if the injuries happen by accident, I take full responsibility.”

Roberts spoke to Ohtani before the team worked out at Dodger Stadium. He said it wasn’t about benching the Japanese superstar, but rather offering him time off similar to Freddie Freeman during the postseason in 2024. Freeman had a sprained ankle and bone bruise, took three days off spanning the NL Division Series and NLCS before earning World Series MVP honors.

“Over the course of this long season, there’s only really a short period of time when my mechanics is completely in sync,” Ohtani said. “So it’s just really kind of just going back and forth, finding the right parts of the swing and managing just the different parts of the swing. It’s a constant, ongoing process that’s headed in the right direction.”

Ohtani led the Dodgers to a four-game NLCS sweep of Milwaukee last year, when the Brewers hit a measly .118 against LA's pitching.

He was 5 for 14 (.357) with three home runs, four walks and five strikeouts as NLCS MVP — all three homers came in a memorable Game 4 clinch in which he also struck out 10 as a pitcher. He had a 1.643 OPS and 1.143 slugging percentage.

“We remember vividly at this time last year that he maybe had the best baseball game ever played the day he pitched against us and hit a home run every time up, it seemed like,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “You can’t forget that, his capabilities. But you still have to go at him.”

Ohtani is known for hitting homers but the Dodgers would take any kind of offensive production from him at this point.

“In this big moment, we’re listening to Shohei, and we’re going to support the crap out of him and believe in him, and that’s it,” Roberts said.

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Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras shares a light moment with teammates during a workout ahead of Game 3 of baseball's National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Milwaukee Brewers' Jackson Chourio walks across the field during a workout ahead of Game 3 of baseball's National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell speaks during a news conference ahead of Game 3 of baseball's National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani strikes out during the sixth inning of Game 2 of baseball's National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani listens to questions from the media during a news conference ahead of Game 3 of baseball's National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)