Barkov, Tkachuk & Lauderdale Beach Big Hits per NHLPA Poll

The latest NHLPA Player Poll came out on Wednesday and a couple of members of the Florida Panthers — and where they call home — were popular amongst their peers.

The eighth NHLPA Player Poll, of which 626 NHL players were surveyed on 14 hockey-related questions, touched on a number of questions including most complete player, best passer, top defenseman and more.

While no Panthers were named in the ‘best shoe game’ results, captain Sasha Barkov was the overwhelming winner of the ‘most underrated player’ question with 23 percent of the vote.

Buffalo’s Tage Thompson came in second at 4.3 percent.

Barkov also finished third (17.1 percent) for ‘most complete player’ behind Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid.

Nice company, there.

Matthew Tkachuk was also a finalist in two categories: Third in ‘who affects the game most around the net’ and fourth in ‘which player do you least enjoy playing against, but would like to have on your team?’

When it came to favorite road stops, Sunrise placed third behind Las Vegas and New York City.

Since most teams stay on Fort Lauderdale Beach, we’ll give this honor to them.

Unless the players really like walking around Sawgrass Mills.

Of course, they could just enjoy hanging out at the Innfield.

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW

Sam Reinhart has had some hot streaks and some dry ones as this season has gone along.

Reinhart is definitely on a heater right now.

It obviously comes at a good time as the Panthers continue their playoff push.

• The Panthers travels down the road to the playoffs hit a speed bump on Tuesday night as they got rolled by the Philadelphia Flyers.
• Barkov has been with the Panthers 10 years now, but he says it feels like he got here just last week. On Monday, Barkov became the all-time leading scorer in franchise history by surpassing Jonathan Huberdeau — and his teammates gave him the silent treatment.
• The Panthers have been able to make up a lot of ground in the NHL playoff race and now they hold a wild card spot. The challenge, of course, is going to be keeping it.
• Catch up on what was a busy and productive week for the Panthers.
• The Florida Panthers are going nowhere without Tkachuk as he continued his scoring streak on Monday night.
• Video from Paul Maurice, Reinhart and Brandon Montour following Tuesday night’s win in Detroit.
• You can click the embedded videos below or click RIGHT HERE to see everything all in one place. If you hit subscribe (it’s free), you will know when new content comes up.

NATIONAL HOCKEY NOW

The Panthers lost their playoff spot on Wednesday night as the Pittsburgh Penguins ended their four-game losing streak with an impressive win against the Colorado Avalanche.

It was, perhaps, one of the biggest wins of the season for the Pens and may just get them back on track.

The Penguins now lead the Panthers by a point for the final wild card spot; the Panthers are still three back of the Islanders for the top wild card.

• The Philadelphia Flyers suddenly have a lot of talent on the right side. Could a trade be in the works?
• The Detroit Red Wings may be out of the playoff race, but there is certainly hope for the future.
• Brad Marchand has found his groove at the perfect time for the Boston Bruins.
• The Washington Capitals know ‘something is wrong.’
• James Reimer refusing to wear the San Jose Sharks’ Pride jersey has gotten a lot of attention.
• Could the Vegas Golden Knights play the Flames in the opening round?
• Speaking of the Calgary Flames, their rollercoaster season continues.

PANTHERS ON DECK

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise
• TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida; ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932
• Season Series (Toronto leads 1-0): Maple Leafs 5, Panthers 4 OT (Jan. 17)
• Last season: Florida won 2-1
  
• All-time regular season series: Toronto leads 46-35-7, 7 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: New York Rangers at Florida, Saturday, 5 p.m.