‘He’s gifted’: Carter Verhaeghe’s shooting prowess on full display for Florida Panthers
Carter Verhaeghe gave the Florida Panthers a chance to finally exhale. They had gone back-to-back games without scoring a goal, something that hasn’t been done in franchise history in 12 years, and tensions were a bit higher than usual entering their game against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
And then, he broke the drought.
The Panthers cycled the puck in the offensive zone on one of their early first-period shifts. Defenseman Gustav Forsling sent the puck deep to Verhaeghe behind the net. Verhaeghe skated around the walls before sending it to defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson at the blue line. Ekman-Larsson jammed the puck along the wall, getting it to center Sam Bennett. And then Bennett made a slick pass to Verhaeghe at the front of the net before Verhaeghe buried a wrist shot that got past Oilers goaltender Calvin Pickard 5:33 into regulation.
It was the Panthers’ first goal in 126 minutes and 34 seconds, but Florida was merely just beginning as they scored four more times in that game for a 5-1 rout of Edmonton.
“Any time you don’t score for two games, it sucks,” Verhaeghe said. “It was nice to see the puck go in the net. We made a couple nice plays there.”
Verhaeghe wasn’t done with just the game-opening goal. He capped scoring 21 seconds into the third period on a snap shot from the right circle on an odd-man rush with Matthew Tkachuk and Bennett. Before firing off his shot, Verhaeghe stuttered almost to a halt to shake off his defender and freeze Pickard in net.
It was Verhaeghe’s first multi-goal performance of the season. He added an assist for good measure to cap a three-point night.
“It’s just how fast he gets it off his stick,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “The play looked like it was dead, the fifth goal. It’s over ... and then it’s in the net. He’s gifted for that, for sure.”
Entering the Panthers’ game against the Calgary Flames on Monday to end a season-long five-game road trip, Verhaeghe is second on the team with 15 goals and third with 26 total points.
Brandon Montour scores his first
It took 14 games since his return from offseason shoulder surgery, but Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour finally scored his first goal of the season.
With just over a minute left in the first period, Montour took a pass in the slot from Verhaeghe and fired a snap shot past Pickard to put Florida up 2-0.
“It’s good,” Montour said. “The last 12, 13 games, I’ve had some bounces, some posts, some bad luck, but just trying to get the confidence back. It was almost six months off. I haven’t experienced that. I’m recovering and just starting to feel good again.”
It was a matter of time for Montour, who is coming off a career season during Florida’s run to the Stanley Cup Final. Montour set career highs in goals (16), assists (57) and points (73) over 80 regular-season games and then added another 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in the playoffs.
Montour missed the Panthers’ first 15 games of the season while rehabbing his shoulder.
“He’s a guy that had a huge year for us last year and he’s a really good player,” Maurice said, “but when they miss that amount of time, it takes them a while. Now, he gets to feel like he’s back. ... He looks like the Brandon Montour we’re used to seeing.”
Checking in on Huberdeau, Weegar
The road trip finale against Calgary will mark the third time Florida faces off against former long-time Panthers Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar since the blockbuster trade in the summer of 2022 that brought Tkachuk to the Panthers.
Huberdeau, who was a steady offensive presence during his 10-season tenure in Florida, has still struggled to get things going with the Flames. In 110 games with Calgary entering Monday, Huberdeau has just 19 goals and 70 total points. That includes just 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 31 games this season. He has failed to produce a point in nine of his past 10 games.
Weegar, meanwhile, seems to have figured things out. The defenseman has eight goals (tied for second in the NHL among defensemen) and 19 points in 31 games after putting up 31 points (four goals, 27 assists) last season.
As for Tkachuk, he has put up just 21 points (five goals, 16 assists) in 30 games for the Panthers after setting a career high with 109 points (40 goals, 69 assists) in the 2022-23 season en route to being a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy.
.JPG)