Mike Hoffman has played 16 games with the Panthers. He already holds a franchise record
Mike Hoffman stands alone atop the Florida Panthers record book.
With his first-period assist on Aaron Ekblad’s power play goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Hoffman set a new franchise record by scoring at least one point in 14 consecutive games.
When the Panthers acquired Hoffman in the offseason, the hope was that he would be a playmaker on one of their top two forward lines.
He’s been that and more.
Hoffman moved to the top line after about two weeks and has since been a force alongside captain Aleksander Barkov and fellow winger Evgenii Dadonov.
His stats through the first period Thursday: 7 goals, 9 assists and 16 points. All of which have come on this 14-game streak after being held off the board in his first two games with the Panthers.
“His offense speaks for itself,” Panthers coach Bob Boughner said earlier in the season. “He’s got a gift and he sees the ice very well and compliments that line very well with Daddy and Barky.”
His linemate Dadonov isn’t too far behind. Dadonov entered Thursday’s game on a 12-game point streak, which made him and Hoffman the first set of teammates to record simultaneous point streaks of at least 12 games since Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin did so early in the 2007 season.
The Panthers are in the midst of a five-game win streak.