SUNRISE, Fla. — Jonathan Huberdeau flashed a smile while his second shot of the game found the back of the Winnipeg Jets’ net and he crashed into the boards behind the goal. Less than five minutes were gone and the All-Star forward already had two goals to start the Florida Panthers on their way to a 6-1 rout Friday in Sunrise.
He was having fun. He already has the first 100-point season in team history and these two were easy — the 28-year-old Canadian was in the right place at the right time to score with Connor Hellebuyck out of position.
They were exactly what he and the Panthers needed, though. After two weeks of close calls and come-from-behind wins, Florida (53-15-6) scored its most convincing win of April and Huberdeau, who already set an NHL single-season record for assists by a left wing, got to build his case for the Hart Memorial Trophy.
In the third period, he added one of his signature flashy passing plays, stopping on a dime on the right doorstep and picking out Gustav Forsling for a primary assist as the defenseman trailed the play. Forsling’s goal — his second of the second period — put Florida up 4-0 with 3:39 left in the second period and let Florida play a drama-free third period against on its way to a ninth straight win.
With eight games left in the regular season, the Panthers lead everyone in the Eastern Conference by eight points and everyone in the Atlantic Division by 10, and Huberdeau is up to 108 points — two behind Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid for the league lead.
Florida has played one game fewer than the Oilers, too. Huberdeau has a real chance to surpass McDavid by the end of the season, although the star center is still on pace to narrowly edge him out.
For Huberdeau, it was a statistical bounceback from Tuesday, when he tallied just one point in the Panthers’ overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks. The point, of course, was the game-winning goal and Andrew Brunette stumped for him as a Hart candidate after the game.
“It’s probably a shame he hasn’t been talked about enough for the Hart Trophy,” the interim coach said Tuesday. “It’s almost a shame he only got one point.”
While his performance Friday wasn’t as dramatic, it was just as productive.
With 17:57 left in the first, he set up on the left doorstep and cashed in when All-Star forward Claude Giroux’s point shot bounced off the boards behind the net and wound up right on Huberdeau’s stick. Less than three minutes later, he was on the right doorstep and scored after Giroux again assisted him as he popped out from behind the net. For the rest of the game, the crowd at FLA Live Arena groaned for every one of Huberdeau’s near misses as he gunned for a hat trick.
Still, Florida outscored the Jets, 3-0, when Huberdeau’s line was on the ice and outshot Winnipeg, 14-2, while generating 12 scoring chances.
On the other end, star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced and the Panthers only gave up 21 shots in 5-on-5 play. The Jets (35-29-11) are still in contention for a spot in the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs and Florida dismantled them for its sixth win by five or more goals this season.
