With two more goals, Panthers’ Carter Verhaeghe continues to show why he’s ‘such a threat’
The set-up for both of Carter Verhaeghe’s goals on Saturday were almost identical.
He gets the puck in the neutral zone and begins an odd-man rush down the left board. He has a teammate to his right — Maxim Mamin the first time around, Anton Lundell the second — and one Carolina Hurricane defenseman between them.
Each time, Verhaeghe has a choice. He can feed the puck to his teammate or try his luck on his own. Both times, as Verhaeghe gets to the left circle the decision is made.
Verhaeghe takes the shot both times.
Verhaeghe scores both times.
“When he gets flying like that like he did tonight, he’s really dangerous and really hard to contain,” Anthony Duclair said Saturday of Verhaeghe. “When he gets going like that, he’s such a threat.”
Verhaeghe’s two goals, which came less than three minutes apart, gave Florida a big enough lead to withstand a rally attempt from the Hurricanes during their 4-3 overtime win on Saturday at PNC Arena.
And they were the reward for yet another solid offensive performance by the 26-year-old winger.
Verhaeghe is third on the Panthers with 28 points this season, racking up 10 points and 18 assists through his first 34 games.
Saturday was his second multi-goal game and eighth multi-point effort of the season, his second with the Panthers. He’s scoring on 16.1 percent of his shots on goal, the third-highest efficiency on the Panthers roster among those who have taken at least 50 shots behind only Duclair (23.3 percent) and Aleksander Barkov (20 percent).
Verhaeghe credits his success to playing on Florida’s top line with Barkov and Maxim Mamin.
“Lately our line has been pretty good,” Verhaeghe said. “We’re pretty dangerous and getting a ton of chances.”
But his individual effort is noticed as well. When the Panthers signed him ahead of the 2021 season, he was a fourth-line player for the Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning. The potential was there but not necessarily the opportunity.
He was given the opportunity in Florida, almost immediately becoming a top-six forward.
And he flourished. He scored 18 goals and 18 assists in 43 games last year, far exceeding the 13 total points (nine goals, four assists) he had with the Lightning in the 2019-2020 season.
He’s taking his game to another level this year with the Panthers.
“He’s getting better each game,” interim coach Andrew Brunette said. “He sets a lot of the pace for us. For this team, he’s very important.”
Huberdeau’s Hart case
With another goal and assist on Saturday, Jonathan Huberdeau has now amassed 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) over his past five games. That’s a Panthers franchise record for most points in a five-game span.
“Huby’s such a special player,” Duclair said. “One of the best playmakers in the league.”
And if he keeps this up, Huberdeau very well should be in consideration for the NHL’s Hart Memorial Trophy, the league’s most valuable player award.
Through games played Saturday, Huberdeau ranks second in the league with 33 assists and fourth with 46 points. He’s on pace to score 108 points this season, which would shatter the Panthers’ single-season record of 96 set by Barkov in the 2018-19 season.
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