Sam Reinhart scores 50, Florida Panthers big weekend up north, CBS News Miami's Steve Goldstein
SUNRISE - Following three consecutive losses, the banged-up Florida Panthers faced a pair of tough road games against the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers.
Playing without their top defense pair of Aaron Ekblad and Gustav Forsling and top center Aleksander Barkov, it was a weekend of gut-check games. Led by outstanding goaltending and a perked-up offense, the Panthers picked up 3 of 4 possible points to move back into first place in the Atlantic division. It sets up their biggest game of the season Tuesday at Amerant Bank Arena against Boston.
Sam Scores 50
In Sunday's win in Philadelphia, Sam Reinhart scored two goals to become the second Panther in franchise history to score 50 in a season. Now, with 11 games remaining, he needs 10 goals to pass Pavel Bure to set the single season record. It's a tough road to reach it, but with Reinhart, it's possible.
Three Points
Between three straight losses and a long break between games, the Panthers entered Saturday at Madison Square Garden, having gone 11 days without gaining points. Playing without key players and half their defense, they came up with a strong Panther-like effort to gain a point as the Rangers won the shootout. Sergei Bobrovsky made a handful of remarkable saves as the Panthers had leads of 2-0 and 3-2. But they couldn't hold those leads and ended up with 1 point. Sunday, Anthony Stolarz was his usual stellar self, winning his career-high 6th game in a row. Philadelphia more than doubled the Panthers in shots but timely goals by Reinhart, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Carter Verhaeghe led to a 4-1 win.
Injury Update
With a playoff spot realistically wrapped up and flirting with the top of the league standings, there is no reason for the Panthers to rush any players. Gustav Forsling is sick, so there is no concern about him. He should will be back this week, as early as Tuesday. Aleksander Barkov is day to day with an injury and falls in the same timeline as Forsling. Aaron Ekblad is skating and remains on target for a potential return the first week of April. Forward Jonah Gadjovich is also banged up and will be ready soon, but it gives Paul Maurice an opportunity to get a look at some line combinations and give players ice time. The Panthers will need all hands on deck to get through the playoffs, so getting everyone playing time now is beneficial.
Boston Rivalry
The Bruins and all of Boston are still smarting from that playoff loss to the Panthers last spring. The two teams are tied in points for the Atlantic division lead, but the Panthers hold the tiebreaker. There are two head to head games remaining, Tuesday in Sunrise and next Saturday in Boston. Those four point games could decide the division, the top seed in the conference, and maybe the President's Trophy as the best regular season team in the league. If both teams win their first round series, they are on a collision course for a 2nd round meeting. Hopefully, for fans, the series is similar to last year's epic 7 game thriller. For Panther fans, the same outcome would be welcomed.