FHN Today: Boqvist Earns Florida Panthers Award Nomination

FORT LAUDERDALE — Jesper Boqvist is the Florida Panthers nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy by the Florida Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association.

Each of the 32 teams in the league nominate a candidate for the Masterton Trophy; The PHWA first presented the Masterton Trophy in 1968 to commemorate the late Bill Masterton, a player with the Minnesota North Stars.

The award goes to the player who exhibited the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

Masterton died January 15, 1968 following an injury suffered in a game.

Boqvist signed with the Panthers as a free agent this past summer after playing for the Bruins last season.

He has 12 goals and 23 points in 74 games with the Panthers this season, and signed a two-year contract extension with the team earlier this season.

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW

• The Detroit Red Wings are in town, and their playoff hopes are on “life support,’’ as coach Todd McLellan put it. But the Florida Panthers have a slim chance of getting themselves some home ice for the first round.
• Check out Detroit Hockey Now for all your Red Wings news.
• The Panthers are back to six points out of first, and three back of second in the Atlantic. The Battle of Florida is on looks like it’s going to be a thing again.
• Don’t forget to subscribe to the FHN YouTube channel to hear from the Florida Panthers before and after games. New video from Paul Maurice, Sasha Barkov, Gus Forsling, Brad Marchand, and Sam Reinhart is up now. More today from Fort Lauderdale, then postgame from Sunrise.

NHL NEWS, LINKS

• The NHL is mourning the loss of former GM Ray Shero, who won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
• Gabriel Landeskog has had a long and winding road back to the ice, and the Colorado captain is getting closer to a return with an official conditioning assignment to the AHL.
• Former Panthers d-man Mike Reilly is the New York Islanders nominee for the Masterton.
• The New Jersey Devils fumbled away a chance to clinch a spot in the playoffs.
• Now that Alex Ovechkin has his record, the Washington Capitals are getting back to work.
• The Senators are probably going to keep Brady Tkachuk out of the lineup until the playoffs start.
• Taking a look at the Frozen Four — and what each team needs to do to win.
• Issac Howard, the Lightning’s first-round pick in 2022, is returning to Michigan State for his senior year.

ON DECK: GAME No. 79

DETROIT RED WINGS at FLORIDA PANTHERS 

• When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• Streaming: Panthers+; ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5 FM-2; WBZT 1230-AM (West Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); WCZR 101.7-FM (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL/Panthers App
• Betting Odds — Panthers Favored: Money Line (-125); Puck line (-1.5, +180); Over/Under 5.5 (-130/+105)
• Last Season: Florida won 3-1
• This Season (Red Wings Lead 2-0)— At Detroit: Red Wings 2, Panthers 1 (April 6). At Florida: Red Wings 5, Panthers 2 (Jan. 16); Thursday.
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 39-21-7, 5 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday vs. Buffalo Sabres, 6 p.m.