Colby Guy
Lost in the shuffle of the Florida Panthers very deep forward core, Carter Verhaeghe has been having himself quite the season so far.
In 57 games, the 6-2, 180-pound forward has 20 goals and 46 points, ranking fifth on the team in both categories.
He possesses a ton of speed for his size and, when he gets in alone, he has a slick release that could beat just about any goaltender he faces.
“I just like to shoot it,” Verhaeghe said. “I don’t want to reveal too much of my secrets, but I like shooting there.”
It has not always been easy for Verhaeghe, 26, who spent a few years before breaking out in South Florida, but it is starting to get there now.
Verhaeghe played in his 100th game as a Panther on Thursday, totaling 38 goals and 82 points in his time in Sunrise.
He also scored two goals that night en route to helping Florida to a 6-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Those two goals capped off a four-game stretch that saw him score four goals and six points that started on Mar. 5.
Previously, he was on a six-game goal drought, going goalless since a Feb. 18 win over the Minnesota Wild.
“Sometimes it’s frustrating when the bounces don’t go your way, but I kinda stuck with it,” Verhaeghe said. “Sometimes they’re going, sometimes they’re not, so you kind of just have to stay positive and stick with it.”
Verhaeghe broke the streak on March 7, tapping home a feed from Mason Marchment to put Florida up 4-0 in a game they would eventually win 6-1 over the Buffalo Sabres.
“You look back a couple of games ago where he hit the post with a couple of seconds left and you have spurts like that where it’s not quite going, it’s good to see him stick with it and to start seeing it going,” Sam Reinhart said.
“It sometimes takes a break like that the other way, but for him to stick with it, it says a lot about him.”
From there, he was oozing confidence.
First, showed his sweet release on a wrist shot the following day, breaking out on a 2-on-1 with Florida captain and leading goal scorer Sasha Barkov.
He had just enough space to fire off a laser with Barkov flanking as a decoy, scoring an all-important goal that put the Panthers up two goals in a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“They jumped on him pretty good,” Verhaeghe said of Barkov. “I wanted to pass it to him, but he gave me a lane so I just shot it.”
In his 100th game, Verhaeghe continued showing off his skill, starting with a beautiful turnaround shot that opened up the scoring just 3:26 into the game. It was his 19th of the season — marking his career-high in goals.
He became a 20-goal scorer for the first time in his career later in the period, putting Florida up 4-0 with another slick wrist shot off the rush with 29.3 seconds to go in the frame.
“I like shooting the puck and I had two good looks from the slot,” Verhaeghe said. “I just shot it as hard as I can and I got lucky it went in.”
Verhaeghe continues to be a staple on Florida’s top line with Barkov, as the pair have been virtually inseparable since his arrival in 2020.
And Barkov enjoys playing with him too.
“Every time he steps on the ice, he wants to score a goal,” Barkov said. “He wants to be the guy, he wants to create the scoring chances and I’m having a lot of fun playing with him and going through this season together.
“He’s a great guy, great player, and I’m really lucky to be playing with him.”