Barkov expected to return to lineup, Verhaeghe’s success late and more Panthers notes
After a three-game absence, Aleksander Barkov’s appears set to return to the Florida Panthers lineup.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice said after morning skate Wednesday he is “exceptionally confident” Barkov will be on the ice when they host the Arizona Coyotes at Amerant Bank Arena for their final home game before the All-Star Break.
“We don’t clear him until they come to the rink and is heading to the warmup,” Maurice said. “In the playoffs, if I said I think so, you might have a guy who’s at 72 percent. In the regular season with Barkov, he’s as close to 100 percent as we can tell, but it’s still no guarantee until he comes in for the warmup.”
Barkov hasn’t played since missing the final minutes of Florida’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 15 when an unspecified lower-body injury tightened up on him. He then sat out Florida’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Jan. 17, 6-4 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Friday and 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Monday.
In 40 games played this season, Barkov leads the Panthers with 35 assists and is tied for second with 46 points.
Carter Verhaeghe’s third-period dominance
Panthers winger Carter Verhaeghe has a knack for scoring in big moments late in games.
It happened once again on Monday when he scored Florida’s go-ahead goal 1:11 into the third period against Nashville, snapping a shot from the high slot into the net past Predators goaltender Juuse Saros.
The goal was Verhaeghe’s team-leading 13th goal in the third period.
“He is best when there’s too many people on the ice or there’s too many people in a condensed area,” Maurice said. “That’s where he can find a puck and get it off his stick in the most unusual ways.”
That logic also explains Verhaeghe’s ability to step his game up in the playoffs. Verhaeghe has scored 17 goals, including seven game-winners, for the Panthers in the past two postseasons.
“There’s more intensity, more pressure, more chaos in the playoffs,” Maurice said. “The gaps get closed quicker. There’s less room. It’s far more physical. That’s when he’s at his best. He’s great in chaos.”
He’s also great in general when playing at even strength. Verhaeghe has 93 even-strength goals since joining the Panthers ahead of the 2020-21 season. Entering Wednesday, only four players have more in that span: Auston Matthews (131), Connor McDavid (110), David Pastrnak (102) and Mikko Rantanen (99).
Of his 24 goals this, 18 are at even-strength, ninth-most in the NHL.
Gustav Forsling returns
In addition to getting Barkov back, Maurice said defenseman Gustav Forsling will draw back into the lineup Wednesday after missing Monday’s game while on family leave.
Forsling’s return will return the Panthers’ defense pairings to their normal groups — Forsling with Aaron Ekblad, Niko Mikkola with Brandon Montour, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson with Dmitry Kulikov.
Milestones
▪ Ekblad on Wednesday will play his 655th game with the Panthers, move into third place all-time in the Panthers’ games played list.
It will break a tie with Stephen Weiss, who held the record for nearly a decade before Jonathan Huberdeau surpassed him during the 2021-22 season. Barkov then reset the record this season.
▪ Maurice will hit a milestone of his own on Wednesday. The game will be his 1,813th behind the bench in the NHL, breaking a tie with Barry Trotz for second-most in NHL history. He tied the record Monday against the Predators, with whom Trotz is the general manager.
Scotty Bowman holds the NHL record for most games coached at 2,141.
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