Why Panthers are finally giving Verhaeghe a shot on their top power play for stretch run
For the second night in a row, boos rained down from the crowd as another Florida Panthers power play stalled and sputtered in the first period of an eventual overtime loss to the Jets.
It was, at least for now, the last straw for Paul Maurice. On the Panthers’ next power play, Carter Verhaeghe skated to the ice in place of Aaron Ekblad on the first power play unit. Florida had to make some sort of change and it wound up paying off.
“I am not sure about the permanence of it,” the coach said Wednesday, “but we’re certainly going to run it for a little while.’’
It was an easy decision after the way the Winnipeg game ended. The Panthers’ next power play lasted just 43 seconds before All-Star right wing Matthew Tkachuk scored. The next one ended with a goal for forward Sam Reinhart and another in the third period lasted just 10 seconds before Tkachuk scored.
Florida finished 3 of 5 on the power play to rally and get the game to overtime, and Maurice saw more than enough to stick with his new-look top unit. It will again get the first look for the Panthers on Thursday when they host the Montreal Canadiens in Sunrise, with Verhaeghe and Reinhart out on either wing, star defenseman Brandon Montour at the point, Tkachuk in front of the net and All-Star center Aleksander Barkov in the middle of the ice.
The Verhaeghe switch is a logical one, even though it sends one of Florida’s biggest stars to the second unit. The forward is the Panthers’ top goal scorer, and Florida has needed a more reliable scoring punch from the left face-off circle, as well as better zone entries. Verhaeghe, a reliable skater and one of the fastest skaters on the team, is a potential fix for both.
“It is a rarity not to have your No. 1 goal scorer on your top power play unit,’’ Maurice said. “We liked it and think it is a different kind of threat for us.”
The results, even in a small sample size, spoke for themselves, too. The Panthers were mired in a 4-of-47 slump before retooling their top unit and then immediately closed on a 3-of-4 run.
Of course, neither Verhaeghe nor Ekblad are ever at the center of Florida’s plan on the power play. Tkachuk, who scored both of his goals on rebounds, pointed to a much simpler, more obvious change.
Barkov missed three games with an injury from the end of February into the start of March, and the Panthers went 0 of 5 on the power play without him. His return, Tkachuk argued, is the real reason Florida improved over the weekend.
“It’s pretty easy to tell that when a guy like that comes back, it changes things,” Tkachuk said. “He’s the half-wall guy, he can be the shooter, he’s the guy who carries the pucks into the zone. ... He’s the guy that’s driving.”
Panthers get Lyon playing time
The Panthers sent goaltender Alex Lyon to AHL Charlotte on Wednesday, but he could be back in South as soon as the weekend. The Panthers are just trying to get him some playing time with star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky rolling in his every-day role.
“We want to get him in games. He’s been off for a block of time,” Maurice said. “Our schedule allowed us to run Sergei and with the schedule coming up we have back-to-back four-game weeks. We need another goaltender.”
The Charlotte Checkers have back-to-back games at AHL Toronto on Friday and Saturday, and Lyon will at least start Friday to get his first live-game action since January.
Lyon, 30, started six straight games ahead of the 2023 NHL All-Star Game while Bobrovsky and fellow goaltender Spencer Knight were both injured, but hasn’t played since. He has a 3.35 goals against average and .895 save percentage this year.
Goaltender Mack Guzda will serve as Bobrovsky’s backup for at least Thursday. Lyon could rejoin Florida in time for its game against the Devils on Saturday or start again in Toronto on Saturday, depending on his workload Friday.
