Aleksander Barkov set the Panthers record for career goals. How the numbers break down
Aleksander Barkov now stands alone.
His second-period goal against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday was the 189th of his career, the most by a player in Florida Panthers history. It breaks Olli Jokinen’s mark that has held firm since he was traded from the organization following the 2007-08 season.
With the mark official, here’s a deeper dive into how Barkov racked up his 189 goals, with a little help from Hockey-Reference and the advanced hockey statistics website NaturalStatTrick.
Breakdown by opponent
Barkov has scored at least one goal against every team in the NHL except the Seattle Kraken — an expansion team in its first NHL season that the Panthers have not played yet.
Sixty-six of his goals have come in 185 games against Atlantic Division opponents, with at least six goals scored against each of the seven teams.
The team he has scored the most goals against? That would be the Montreal Canadiens, with 16 goals in 24 games. Barkov also has double-digit goals against the Detroit Red Wings (13), Carolina Hurricanes (10) and Dallas Stars (10).
A lot of Huberdeau helpers
Barkov is the second-longest tenured Panthers player on their current roster, one year behind fellow forward Jonathan Huberdeau. With the duo playing together for the past eight-plus years, it’s no surprise that Huberdeau has played a large role in Barkov’s success.
Huberdeau, the Panthers’ career points leader, has assisted on 71 of Barkov’s 189 goals and recorded the primary assist on 44 of those tallies, both by far the most out of any of Barkov’s teammates. Second on both lists: Keith Yandle, with 36 total assists and 22 primary assists.
The two are rarely on the ice in even strength situations nowadays. Barkov centers the Panthers’ top line with Carter Verhaeghe and Anthony Duclair on the wings. Huberdeau is the left wing on Florida’s second line.
The two are only paired together now on the power play and during the three-on-three overtime periods, but the chemistry remains. Three of Barkov’s goals this year have either come on the power play or as the game-winner in overtime. Huberdeau has assists on all three.
The flick of the wrist
According to NHL data, 72 of Barkov’s goals have been on wrist shots. After that, 36 are snap shots, 33 are backhanded shots, 28 are tip-ins, 16 are slap shots, three are deflections in front of the net and one is a wraparound from behind the net.
Scoring in all situations
The Panthers employ Barkov in just about every game situation feasible, so it’s no surprise that he has a knack for scoring in just about every game situation possible.
While 113 of his goals have come in 5-on-5 situations, he also has 52 power-play goals, 10 goals in 4-on-4, seven short-handed goals and seven overtime goals.
Barkov goals by season
▪ 2013-2014: Eight goals in 54 games
▪ 2014-2015: 16 goals in 71 games
▪ 2015-2016: 28 goals in 66 games
▪ 2016-2017: 21 goals in 61 games
▪ 2017-2018: 27 goals in 79 games
▪ 2018-2019: 35 goals in 82 games
▪ 2019-2020: 20 goals in 66 games
▪ 2020-2021: 26 games in 50 games
▪ 2021-2022: Eight goals in 12 games (so far)
Some final by-the-number notables
▪ 35: Game-winning goals
▪ 21: Multi-goal games
▪ 2: Hat tricks
This story was originally published November 9, 2021 at 8:03 PM.
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