Reinhart becomes Panthers’ latest playoff hero by staying ‘one step ahead’ — on both ends
The Florida Panthers’ third line succeeds by treating hockey like a chess match. Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen always “want to be one step ahead,” Lundell said Sunday, and they want to do it on both ends of the ice. It makes their forecheck a special kind of nuisance and their passing plays a thing of beauty.
It’s also how the Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2, in overtime Sunday in Sunrise. This is Reinhart’s line — at 27, the forward is three years older than Luostarinen and six older than Lundell — and he made about half a dozen thoughtful moves in a matter of seconds to score the game-winning goal and give Florida a commanding 3-0 lead in this second-round series.
“He does that a lot in the small areas of the game that you almost have to watch on video,” coach Paul Maurice said Sunday.
It happens on both ends of the ice and has made this third line one of the Panthers’ best since Maurice reunited them for Game 5 of their first-round series with the Bruins.
On offense, Florida has outscored opponents 4-1 when Reinhart, Lundell and Luostarinen have been on the ice together. On defense, those three forwards have combined for 37 hits and 14 takeaways. Whether it’s coincidence or correlation, the Panthers have won six in a row since putting this line back together and are now one win away from the Eastern Conference finals with a chance to sweep the Maple Leafs on Wednesday in Game 4 at FLA Live Arena.
The decisive goal in Game 3 was a product of the chess-style thinking this line is all about.
It started with a long stretch pass from star defenseman Aaron Ekblad, and Reinhart snagged the puck out of the air near the edge of the offensive zone. Instead going right on the attack, Reinhart knew Lundell was late making a line change, so he held up play at the blue line, which came with the added benefit of drawing the defense toward him. Once Lundell was on the ice, Reinhart made a move into the offensive zone and slammed a pass off the boards behind Toronto’s goal to carom the puck to Lundell, then took off into the space behind the goal to receive a return pass from the forward. In one motion, Reinhart collected the puck, wrapped around the net and jammed a shot past Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll to win the game.
“He went from 1-on-1 to 1-on-5 into a hole,” Maurice said. “It was the change of sides that’s really impressive, draw people to you, release and then go to open ice.”
Reinhart now has five goals and two assists on 20 shots in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, and Florida has a 11-6 advantage in high-danger chances when the Luostarinen-Lundell-Reinhart line is on the ice for 5-on-5 play. Reinhart is also third on the team with nine takeaways so far in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
As much attention as superstar right wing Matthew Tkachuk’s line has gotten for wreaking havoc on the forecheck with nearly 100 combined hits in the Cup playoffs, the Luostarinen-Lundell-Reinhart line has actually been more productive in terms of takeaways.
“All three of those guys have a really strong defensive IQ. They’re smart. They know their routes, but they don’t sit back to run them,” Maurice said. “They’re almost the polar opposite of the Bennett line. The forecheck is equally effective and completely different with how it’s applied. One applies it with a hammer, the other with a paintbrush.”
For Reinhart, it’s a new dimension he has added in his two years with the Panthers and has taken to another level in these playoffs.
In his six-plus years with the Sabres, Reinhart never had a season with more than 48 hits and only once had a year with more than 29 takeaways. In two regular seasons since Florida traded a first-round pick for him in 2021, Reinhart has had 49 hits and 37 takeaways, and then 58 and 35 this year. His postseason numbers have jumped up another level with 30 hits and nine takeaways already in just 10 games.
“We all think the game relatively similar. We’ve been doing a good job of taking our turn pushing forward,” Reinhart said Sunday. “We’re all defensive-minded at the end of the day and the more we can push forward, and limit their time and space, we’re going to create more for ourselves offensively.”
The game-winning goal was, of course, an exciting moment for Maurice to celebrate with his team, but it was also just fulfilling to see Reinhart in the middle of it.
Even though he averaged more than a point per game last season, Reinhart is back on the third line because it’s what Florida needs from him.
“I’m really happy for him,” Maurice said. “He’s a high-end player who accepts what you might call a third-line role happily, develops two young players with him, no ego, never once talked about ice time this year. You like those guys to get a payoff.”
Panthers sign Samoskevich to ELC
The Panthers officially locked up their top prospect with a three-year, entry-level contract Monday and Mackie Samoskevich, 20, will join the team for the start of the 2023-24 NHL season, according to CapFriendly.
Samoskevich, who was Florida’s first-round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, wrapped up a two-year career at Michigan earlier this year and played in nine games for AHL Charlotte this season as part of a professional tryout.
In two regular-season games and seven in the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs, the forward had six assists, 24 shots and a plus-minus of negative-1. With the Wolverines, he scored 30 goals and had 42 assists in 79 games, and was a second-team All-Big Ten Conference selection this season.
“Mackie is a creative, dynamic playmaker who possesses an elite shooting ability and high hockey IQ,” general manager Bill Zito said in a statement. “We’re excited to sign him to our organization and to see him take the next step in his progression as a professional.”
This story was originally published May 8, 2023 at 1:42 PM.
