The Florida Panthers have won six of their last nine. What has sparked the hot streak?
The Florida Panthers have been steadily picking up points all season and have been rewarded.
With their 11-5-5 record through their first 21 games comes 27 points — two for each win and one for each overtime or shootout loss — and a second-place standing in the Atlantic Division behind the Boston Bruins (13-3-5, 31 points).
“We’re just having fun,” Panthers top-line center and captain Aleksander Barkov said after Tuesday’s 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
The fun has picked up as of late, with the Panthers winning four of their past five games and six of their past nine dating back to a 4-3 shootout win over the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 30.
And Barkov and his linemates — wingers Jonathan Huberdeau and Evgenii Dadonov — have played a pivotal role in the success.
The trio has combined to score 16 of the Panthers’ 34 goals (47.1 percent) during the past nine games.
What’s more: Huberdeau (5 goals, 10 assists), Barkov (7 goals, 7 assists) and Dadonov (4 goals, 6 assists) have combined to put up 39 total points in that stretch.
Barkov and Huberdeau each scored goals in the second period Tuesday.
“Barky’s line continues to look like it’s getting better every night,” coach Joel Quenneville said.
And that can be dangerous as the Panthers continue to pick up steam.
The trio last season combined to score 93 goals and added another 165 assists in 82 games. With 27 goals through the first 21 games, the trio is on pace for 105 goals this season.
“Offensively, they are so creative,” goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky said. “It’s so fun to watch them. It’s been great all season long, actually.”
But the top line’s offensive contribution is just one factor in the team’s success.
Since Oct. 30:
▪ The Panthers are tied for the NHL lead in faceoff wins (54.2 percent) and third in power-play efficiency (31.3 percent).
▪ They are 2-0 in shootouts, winning against both the Bruins and Avalanche.
▪ Eleven percent of all shots have resulted in goals, the ninth-best mark in the league.
“As a team, if we all improve on how we’re playing our team game, that’s how we’re going to get better as a group,” Quenneville said. “That’s what we are going to need throughout the year to be where we want to be at the end.”
Next up
The Panthers hope to keep their host streak rolling when they host the Anaheim Ducks (10-10-2) at 7 p.m. Thursday to close out a four-game homestand.
After that, the Panthers travel to face the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday before hosting the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday.
“Consistently, we’re in every game,” Quenneville said. “I think we’re ready to play. We’re trying to play the right way game in, game out.”
This story was originally published November 20, 2019 at 3:13 PM.
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