Florida Panthers Win 11th Straight

The Florida Panthers are red hot down the stretch as the NHL regular season winds down. The Panthers beat the New York Islanders 3-2 in overtime on April 19th for their 11th straight victory. At 55-15-6 and 116 points, Florida has the best record in the Eastern Conference and is closing in on clinching the top seed in the conference. Florida has six games remaining. The Toronto Maple Leafs (51-20-6, 108) are the Panthers’ closest competition, and although they’ve been nearly as hot, going 8-1-1 in their last 10 games, they are running out of time to catch up. The two teams do meet once more, in Florida on April 23rd.

The Panthers opened the season winning 10 of their first 11 games, and are 19-2-1 since March 3rd. Left Wing Jonathan Huberdeau led the league in total points (111) and assists (81) through games of April 19th. Aleksander Barkov, who had a hat trick in the win over the Islanders, leads the team with 37 goals. (Huberdeau assisted on all three of Barkov’s goals). Florida leads the NHL averaging 4.17 goals per game, with Toronto second (3.87) and Colorado third (3.84). The Avalanche also have 116 points and have already clinched the best record in the Western Conference. With the playoffs coming up, the Panthers are in a position to claim bragging rights in Florida as the best NHL team in the Sunshine State, displacing the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning (46-22-8, 100 points).

Highlights of the Panthers-Islanders game: