When you win 70% of your NHL games it’s no surprise the Florida Panthers are the new team favored to win the Stanley Cup this season. With just 15 games left in the regular season, the Panthers are leading the President’s Trophy race with 94 points. So, just what has gone so right for the Cats this season? First-Sam Reinhart. He’s got 46 goals, second only to Auston Matthews.
Reinhart leads the league in power-play goals with 26 and shorthanded goals with five. Second-Matthew Tkachuk. The scrappy, hard-working left-winger is always tough to play against. But now he’s putting the puck in the net. Between January 1 and February 18, he put up 37 points including 15 goals over Florida’s 19 games. Third-Sergei Bobrovsky & Anthony Stolarz: The two goaltenders have the number one and two ranked goals-against average in the league.
NHL: Buffalo Sabres Trying to Make Another Run
The Buffalo Sabres were dead in the water after the first of the NHL year. The team was 12 points out of the wild card race. But they’re crawling back. They’ve won eight of their last 12, and now sit just three points out with 15 games to go this season. It’s not going to be an easy run, they have two teams ahead of them, and next week is a big challenge. The Sabres will head on a west coast road trip and play Seattle, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary over just seven days. The best player on the team has been goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. I defy you to find a better player with six Ks in his name. Luukkonen, 25, has been on fire. He’s gone 16-8-1 with four shutouts and just 45 goals allowed in his past 25 outings since getting the starting job in late December.
Unusual NHL Injury Knocks Vilardi Out
It’s not something you usually see on a sports injury list – an enlarged spleen. Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi will be out indefinitely for the Winnipeg Jets because of it. ”After further testing, he has an enlarged spleen, so at this point there is no timetable [for a return]. … He will not be traveling with the team,” Jets coach Rick Bowness said Friday. “[The doctors are] treating it as best as they can. … He’s in good hands here.” Vilardi has been playing well this NHL season, he has 30 points (16 goals) in just 38 games this season.
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