Colby Guy
FORT LAUDERDALE — Sasha Barkov has not scored a goal in his past 18 games, a drought that has flown under the radar due to the success he and the Florida Panthers have otherwise enjoyed.
After all, the Panthers are 14-5-2 since their captain last found the back of the net on Dec. 16.
Not only is Florida winning, but linemate Sam Reinhart has scored an absurd 21 goals with 25 points during that span, shooting at close to 33 percent.
Ok, so Barkov has not scored a goal — but he has still produced at a point-per-game rate with 19 assists in those 18 goal-less games.
When it comes to not scoring, Barkov is not making any excuses.
“No, I don’t think so,” Barkov told FHN when asked if playing with Reinhart has caused a shift to a ‘pass-first’ mentality.
“Because when you play with a guy who is a goal scorer that can score a lot of goals, it means you’re also getting a lot more looks. They haven’t been going in for me.
“I’m just going to keep working hard and try to work on my shot and work on my positioning so I can create more chances. But it has nothing to do with the players I play with because I play with elite players.”
Barkov has not been 100 percent healthy during this stretch, either.
He recently returned from a lower-body injury, which kept him out for three games.
”There’s been a block of games since he’s come back off his injury that he’s not as quick,” coach Paul Maurice said.
“When you have an injury, you recondition in some ways. You’re not as quick on the ice as you were before. And that’s where I find he is right now.
“But Sam Reinhart is at 38 [goals], so that’s enough. They split the two and say, ‘Okay, you guys get 19 each,’ and we’re good. Everybody’s happy. I don’t need Barkov scoring, I need the line outperforming the line they play against.
“I don’t care if it’s all going to be in Reinhart’s bucket. It’s good to be his agent.”
With Reinhart scoring as many goals as he has been now, Barkov has been excelling everywhere else.
He has been playing shutdown defense at 5-on-5 and on the penalty kill, and winning those battles has been his main focus.
Barkov has also won 52 of 79 faceoffs (71 percent) since he returned from injury, including 15 of 16 against the Islanders before the All-Star break.
When it comes to creating more chances, Barkov wants that to come naturally rather than forcing shots.
“It’s hard to say, I can’t say I’m thinking about the pass all the time,” Barkov said.
“Obviously, I’ll shoot if I get a chance to shoot, but I just need to be in the various parts to be able to shoot the puck. At the same time, I just need to play the game. I can’t just force it and shoot from the red line or the blue line. I need to get to the better spots and play the game the right way.”
Maurice switched the lines up in the third period of Thursday’s 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals to try and remedy that.
With Barkov slowed down as he re-adjusted from the injury, Maurice bumped up Carter Verhaeghe to help provide some speed and scoring punch.
”He’s very fast and he’s an elite player,” Barkov said. “He creates chances basically by himself as well. But then he can shoot the puck as well.
“I have two very dangerous players playing with me, so it’s fun.”