The Florida Panthers have quickly become one of the hottest teams in the NHL. Up until this past Saturday (Jan. 13), they were one of four teams that had a winning streak of eight or more games with the Cats having nine straight wins. This came after a bad losing streak that included back-to-back shutouts. Those other three teams are the Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers and Seattle Kraken. As a result of their success, they sit second in the Atlantic Division with a record of 27-13-2 with 56 points. They trail the Boston Bruins by just three points for the top spot in the division.
Their incredible streak came just before the halfway point of the season. Throughout the last couple of weeks, the stars of this team have been the main factors in their run. This includes the hot run of Matthew Tkachuk, the electric season that Sam Reinhart is having, and Sergei Bobrovsky finding some consistency between the pipes.
Tkachuk is on Fire
Until their game against the Arizona Coyotes on Jan. 2, Tkachuk only had five goals on the year. He had a 3.9% shooting percentage with 127 shots through 36 games. He was going to finally start putting biscuits in baskets at some point right? Well, on that night, the floodgates began to open.
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Up until Saturday, he was on a five-game goal streak with seven goals in that span. In addition to his goals, he’s also been on an eight-game point streak with 17 points in that span. Tkachuk is back to his elite form, and the league has to take notice.
Sam Reinhart Continues His Fantastic Efforts
Since the start of the season, Reinhart has been absolutely phenomenal. Through 41 games played, he’s scored 30 goals and assisted on 28 others. That makes him the second fastest in franchise history to hit 30 goals behind Pavel Bure, who scored 30 through only 34 games in the 1999-00 season. His goal total makes for second-best in the NHL behind Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews. Not only is he one of the best in scoring goals, but he also leads the league in goals on the man advantage with 15, including a game-winning overtime goal on Jan. 11 against the Los Angeles Kings. Much like his teammate in Tkachuk, he’s also gone streaking in the goal-scoring department with eight goals over a six-game goal streak. During the nine-game win streak, he’s found the back of the net 12 times and tallied two assists.
“Nothing surprises me anymore with him. He’s the real deal. He’s been playing amazing.”
Matthew Tkachuk on Sam Reinhart’s success this season
Because of his great performance all season, he was named to the NHL All-Star Game roster in Toronto next month. This is the first time in his career he was named to the weekend, and the team is extremely proud to have him as their representative.
Bobrovsky’s Been a Brick Wall in Net
During their nine game win streak, Bobrovsky has been a rock between the pipes. He was featured in seven of those nine victories. In that span, he had a save percentage (SV%) of .924 and a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.14. This puts him at 21 wins on the season, which makes for fourth best in the NHL. Furthermore, it puts him at a 2.45 GAA and a .911 SV% on the season. His GAA makes for eighth-best in the league.
While his performance was a big factor in it, he was voted to be the second Florida representative for the All-Star Game in Toronto next month. This will be the third selection in his career with his first two being in 2015 and 2017 with the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, this will be his second All-Star Game as he missed the 2015 game due to an injury.
Can the Success Continue?
The team did have a rough night on Saturday as they dropped what would’ve been their tenth straight win to the New Jersey Devils by a score of 4-1. But their long winning streak gave them a massive pad in the standings. They have a six point lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs for third in the division and a seven-point lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning for the top wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
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Even though they have a commanding lead in the standings, they must continue to find success. They may have only barely gotten into the postseason last year, but they’re going to want that home ice advantage as they’re 13-6-0 at home this season. Regardless, this team is a dominant force, and they will be a problem come the second half of the season.