Balinskis, Nosek Have Big Night for the Florida Panthers

SUNRISE — The Florida Panthers had a feast Thursday night at the expense of a tired Nashville squad. 

The usual cast dominated the scoresheet.

Every member of the top two lines got in on the action: Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, Sasha Barkov, and Evan Rodrigues all racked up points.

The fun part comes when you look at the scoresheet a little closer.

Tomas Nosek, Florida’s fourth-line center, scored his first-ever goal on the power play in the third period.

Over 10 seasons, he has played 436 games prior to getting that power-play goal. 

Before Thursday, his total power-play point production was one assist while a member of the Vegas Golden Knights during the 2021 season.

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A further look into the NHL database shows that Thursday’s late goal was his first power-play shot on goal in six years.

Calling it a shot might be stretching it a bit. 

Defender Cole Smith partially deflected Nate Schmidt’s slick pass toward the goalmouth. 

It hit both of Nosek’s skates and came to rest behind goalie Scott Wedgewood.

On the scoresheet, it’s still a goal.

It was late in the game.

The Panthers had a 5-1 lead, and coach Paul Maurice decided to give his fourth line a taste of power play time.

“We got into the third and had a pretty good lead,” Maurice said. 

“If the other team takes a penalty I don’t like, I send Barkov’s unit over. If it’s just an accidental penalty, that’s the time for those guys to get a little bit more. 

“They get all the heavy lifting and the hard duty at the end of the games to close out – to kill penalties. It’s good for those guys to do that, too.”

Maurice added, “He’ll remember that one,” which was also Nosek’s first goal as a Panther. 

“It’s more fun for the guys on the bench.” Maurice said. “The big goal that A.J. Greer scored against Dallas – the game winner… when Sammy (Mackie Samoskevich) scored his first goal – those were all really appreciated by the bench.These new guys have done a really strong job of fitting in.”

Not to be lost on Nosek’s offensive spurt is that another Panther, Uvis Balinskis, had two assists, the first multi-point game of his NHL career.

Given his promotion to the first power play unit this season, an increase in offensive production is not a surprise.

In his three seasons in the Czech Republic League, he was a prolific scorer for a defenseman.

Balinskis is becoming more comfortable running the top unit.

“I just kind of know what guys want from me and where they’re going to be,” he said. “It just gets easier every game.”

He downplayed his scoring outbreak.

“That’s pretty nice,” Balinskis said, “but most important is the team win.”

Neither Nosek nor Balinskis threaten Reinhart’s 57-goal season, but it’s always a good story when the lesser lights shine.

ON DECK: GAME 15

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS 

• When: Saturday, 6 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (Naples/FTM)
• Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Season Series — At Panthers: Saturday. At Flyers: Dec. 5, Jan. 13.
• Last Season: Flyers Won 2-1
• All-time Regular Season Series: Philadelphia leads 58-38-6, 7 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Tuesday vs. New Jersey Devils, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+/Hulu)