As his goal streak continues, Panthers’ Mike Hoffman aims to ‘capitalize on every chance’
Mike Hoffman’s third-period power-play goal did more than cap off Jonathan Huberdeau’s record-setting night in the Florida Panthers’ 8-4 rout of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday.
It also kept Hoffman’s own recent hot streak alive.
Hoffman tallied two goals in the Panthers’ win, giving him five goals in the past four games and eight total points (five goals and three assists) in the past six.
“It seems like there’s more enthusiasm in his game with the puck,” Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. “And when he has it, he can do a lot of things.”
That has been evident since he joined the Panthers last season.
After Sunday’s two-goal performance, Hoffman has 54 goals and 105 points in 127 games with the Panthers. His 18 goals this season are tied with Huberdeau for second most on the team behind Evgenii Dadonov (19).
He recorded a hat trick in Florida’s home opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning but had not had a multigoal game since until Sunday despite the fact that he’s one of the Panthers’ primary shooters. He leads the club with 125 shots on goal and is converting those into goals at a 14.5 percent rate.
“I think as the season goes it happens for players, when it’s going the right way you’re trying to do the same things and opportunities come and you try to capitalize on every chance that you get,” Hoffman said.
Increased production from Hoffman will help the Panthers as they continue their run to hold down a playoff spot. Florida (24-16-5) enters Monday with 53 points, one behind the Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division and one point ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot.
The Panthers have won nine of their past 13 games dating to their 6-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 16. They close out a four-game homestand on Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings.
“Every game moving forward, especially division games, are the biggest games of the season,” Hoffman said.
Second-line progression
The Panthers’ top forward line of Aleksander Barkov, Huberdeau and Dadonov gets most of the recognition for the club’s high-octane offense.
But Florida’s second line — generally the trio of center Vincent Trocheck and wingers Noel Acciari and Brett Connolly — has given the club increased production as of late.
The three have combined for 11 points (six goals and five assists) over the past six games.
“That line’s been very productive,” Quenneville said. “I think everybody gets a turn right now scoring. ... They’ve just been scoring some big goals for us and doing some big things in big situations. I like the balance that line gives us. It gives us some physicality as well.”
Trocheck leads the way with seven points, chipping in a goal and six assists. He had three points on Sunday.
Connolly has a goal and three assists, while Acciari has four goals in that span to give him 17 on the season after tallying just 18 total goals through his first four NHL seasons with the Boston Bruins.
This and that
▪ After their eight-goal outburst against Toronto on Sunday, the Panthers now lead the NHL with an average of 3.62 goals per game. Florida has scored at least five goals in 13 games this season.
▪ Frank Vatrano’s short-handed goal in the second period on Sunday gave him 10 goals on the season. The Panthers now have seven players with double-digit goals this season: Dadonov (19), Huberdeau (18), Hoffman (18), Acciari (17), Connolly (16), Barkov (14) and Vatrano (10).
▪ Mark Pysyk, a natural defenseman who has played on the Panthers’ fourth forward line, has four points over his past five games.
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