George Richards, FHN Publisher
If there is one player who has personified the ups and downs of this Florida Panthers season, it is captain Sasha Barkov.
Barkov has has numerous injuries this season and even had a bout with pneumonia which knocked him out of seven games back before the New Year.
Yet with the season on the line, the Panthers — and Barkov — have been coming through.
Florida has two games left in their regular season and is now in control of their own postseason destiny.
If the Panthers win these last two games, they will be the top wild card in the Eastern Conference and open the postseason with either the Carolina Hurricanes or New Jersey Devils.
It has been a year of struggles and triumph for the Panthers but the book has not yet been written on this season.
Barkov, for one, wants to keep this thing going.
“We have a good thing going on here,” Barkov told FHN. “We love playing for each other, love working hard every day. That is what we have been doing. We’re obviously getting wins and gaining confidence. We know what we have to do, but we’re taking it one day at a time. You cannot think too much ahead. But everyone in this room believes in what we’re trying to create. We’re excited about that.”
Since Barkov’s return on March 4 from a hand injury he sustained while blocking a shot, he has been a scoring machine.
In those 18 games, Barkov has scored at least a point in 17 of them.
Over the past few weeks, Barkov has become the Florida Panthers’ all-time leading scorer, surpassing Jonathan Huberdeau and he continues to score at a high clip with six goals and 30 points in his past 18 games.
The Panthers, in getting back into the playoff race once seemed out of their reach, have turned things around.
Barkov has been a big part of it.
“There is a great consistency in his game” coach Paul Maurice said. “You just don’t miss him for five or six games at a time. I still think he is growing as a player. When there is a 5-on-3, he is on the ice. That’s a great tell of a great player. You want him on the ice in the most critical situations. He just continually and consistency produces. He can play with anyone and is open to play with anyone.”
Maurice says that Barkov has never come to him and insisted that a certain player be put on his line or with him on the power play. And, Barkov has insisted at times when lines are switched that he feels honored to play with anyone on this team.
That gets noticed in a room.
“If you just met him three days ago, you would wonder if he was really genuine when he said something like that,” Maurice said. “It probably wouldn’t take you three days to figure out that is exactly who he is. And all the players around him seem to have great years. We have Tkachuk who is having a terrific year and you don’t have to play him with Barkov. That makes your team deeper and more dangerous.”
But the Panthers have missed Barkov when he has been out.
Barkov has missed a total of 14 games either because of his knee or hand injuries not to mention the illness.
He has had to battle a lot this season and perhaps it has made him a stronger player because of it.
“This was one of those seasons where everything came it once,’’ Barkov said. “There were injuries and illness and all that stuff, and, hopefully that’s all behind me so I can concentrate just on hockey. But it can make you mentally stronger.”
The Panthers went through a lot of changes this offseason from implementing new systems from a new coaching staff as to replacing a good number of players — including the popular and talented Huberdeau.
Florida’s new additions — most notably Matthew Tkachuk — have worked their way into the fabric of the team.
“Right away, it felt like had been here for a long time,’’ Barkov said. “Sure, losing guys who had been here for a long time changed the team, but we still have a lot of guys who have been around a while.”
It now appears the Panthers have worked their way through their issues and have gotten over the hump.
Regardless of whether it took longer than many expected does not matter.
The Panthers are here now, playing meaningful games in the final week of the regular season.
Although last season’s team did not have to scratch-and-claw its way into the postseason, this one has had to fight for everything it has gotten.
And the fight is not done.
Truthfully, the Panthers have not accomplished anything just yet. They could take a big step forward with a couple of wins this week, however.
“Before last season, we had our challenges here that’s for sure,” Barkov said. “We learned from that. But this year was new, there were a lot of new faces. It took a while for us to get going and it was frustrating.
“You want to get things going right from the first game and it didn’t happen for us. Doesn’t happen for a lot of teams, either. You have to learn your own way, grow and we have been doing that all year. The coaches have been real good with that. The guys in here knows what it takes and, even though it has been up-and-down, it has been fun.”