ALEKSANDER BARKOV

Paul Maurice’s journey toward becoming the new coach of the Florida Panthers included a fortuitous flick of the remote control, plus was aided by a college admissions department.

The Stanley Cup Final between the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning shows the value of hitting on top picks in the NHL draft.

Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron has won the Selke Trophy as the NHL's best defensive forward for a record-breaking fifth time.

There will be a Presidents’ Trophy banner hanging over the Florida Panthers’ home ice next season.

Steven Stamkos scored two goals and Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 5-1 to move to the brink of another trip to the Eastern Conference final.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Alex Brandon)WASHINGTON — (AP) — When the Florida Panthers faced their first real adversity of the season trailing their playoff series against the Washington Capitals, players held a meeting to set things straight. “We held each other accountable, worked really hard for each other and for the guy next to you. Initial nerves at home early in the series faded when Florida started to feel the pressure. Then the Panthers started to look and play like themselves and moved on to face the winner of the series between the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs. No team scored as many goals as the Panthers during the regular season — a rate of 4.11 a game not seen since Mario Lemieux's Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Florida Panthers found what made them the NHL's best regular-season team just in time to win the franchise's first playoff series in 26 years.

Panthers Capitals Hockey Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) celebrates his goal during the third period of Game 6 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoffs against the Washington Capitals, Friday, May 13, 2022, in Washington. Carter Verhaeghe scored the OT winner to send the Panthers to the second round by beating the Washington Capitals 4-3 in Game 6 Friday night. It’s the franchise’s first playoff series victory since 1996 when Florida reached the Stanley Cup Final. Those fans were silent after Verhaeghe scored his sixth goal of the series 2:46 into overtime. Their most recent series win came June 1, 1996, when they beat Pittsburgh in Game 7 to advance to the final.

Carter Verhaeghe scored the overtime winner to send the Panthers to the second round by beating the Washington Capitals 4-3 in Game 6.

T.J. Oshie scored twice for Washington, which also got a goal from Justin Schultz and two assists from Evgeny Kuznetsov. Bobrovsky slammed the door from there, Giroux scored the insurance goal at 15:55, and the Comeback Cats had done it again. This was the season of the comeback for Florida, which had an NHL-best 29 come-from-behind wins during the regular season. In a span of 7:51, Florida went from down three and in huge trouble to tied going into the third. That would be the Florida Panthers.

Carter Verhaeghe set a Florida postseason record with a five-point night and the Florida Panthers escaped a three-goal deficit to beat the Washington Capitals 5-3 and take a 3-2 lead in an Eastern Conference first-round series.

Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe each had a goal and an assist and the Florida Panthers topped the Washington Capitals 5-1 on Thursday night to even their Eastern Conference first-round series at a game apiece.

The Maple Leafs again held an early lead on the Panthers but failed to hold onto it. On April 5 in their last visit, Toronto led Florida 5-1 in the second period but ended up losing 7-6 in overtime. Saturday night, the Panthers fell behind 2-0 after the first period but were able to come back. NOTES: The Maple Leafs welcomed star center Auston Matthews back to the lineup after he missed three games with an undisclosed injury. The Maple Leafs’ previous best was 105 in 2017-18; the Panthers’ was 103 in 2015-16.

Brandon Montour scored 2:26 into overtime and the NHL-leading Florida Panthers extended their winning streak to a franchise-record 13 games by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Saturday night.

Aleksander Barkov scored his 38th goal of the season and the Florida Panthers tied a franchise record with their 12th straight win, beating the Detroit Red Wings 5-2.

Anton Lundell scored twice and the Florida Panthers extended their winning streak to 10 games with a 6-1 rout of the Detroit Red Wings.

Anthony Duclair scored twice, Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and four assists, and the Florida Panthers romped to a 9-3 rout of the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.

It was the first game in NHL history pitting two teams with season-opening point streaks of at least nine games. The Panthers played without captain Aleksander Barkov, the team's best player who was a surprise scratch with a lower body injury. Vincent Trocheck had a goal and an assist for Carolina, and Jesper Fast also scored for the Hurricanes. 100 CLUBThe Panthers have an NHL-best 100 points in regular-season games played in 2021 (the calendar year, not the season), two more than Carolina. Panthers: Visit the Rangers on Monday to start a four-game trip that will also take them to New Jersey, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay.

The Florida Panthers have matched the best 11-game start in NHL history.

Charlie Coyle had the only score in the shootout and the Boston Bruins beat Florida 3-2 Saturday night, ending the Panthers’ season-opening winning streak at eight games.

Panthers Red Wings Hockey Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) celebrates his goal with Jonathan Huberdeau (11) and MacKenzie Weegar (52) in overtime during an NHL hockey game Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) (Paul Sancya)DETROIT — (AP) — Aleksander Barkov scored in overtime and the Florida Panthers — playing a day after coach Joe Quenneville resigned amid a sex scandal — beat Detroit 3-2 on Friday to run their season-opening winning streak to eight. Andrew Brunette, an assistant under Quenneville, directed the Panthers as interim coach. Sam Gagner and Pius Suter scored for Detroit, with Suter tying it with 3:41 left in regulation with his first goal of the season. ___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.

Aleksander Barkov scored in overtime and the Florida Panthers — playing a day after coach Joe Quenneville resigned amid a sex scandal — beat Detroit 3-2 on Friday to run their season-opening winning streak to eight.

Andrew Brunette is ready to coach the Florida Panthers for as long as the team needs.

Joel Quenneville resigned as coach of the Florida Panthers on Thursday, two days after the second-winningest coach in NHL history was among those implicated for not swiftly responding to allegations by a Chicago Blackhawks player of being sexually assaulted by another coach during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Panthers Hockey Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) skates during training camp in preparation for the 2021-22 NHL season at the FLA Live Arena on Thursday, September 23, 2021 in Sunrise, Florida. Choosing loyalty over the chance to be an unrestricted free agent next summer and play somewhere else, Barkov has agreed to an eight-year extension with the Panthers, the team announced Friday. The contract is the largest in terms of total value in Panthers history, topping the $70 million, seven-year deal for goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky in 2019. Barkov becomes the 12th active player in the NHL with a contract with a total value of at least $80 million. ___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.

Panthers Hockey Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) skates during training camp in preparation for the 2021-22 NHL season at the FLA Live Arena on Thursday, September 23, 2021 in Sunrise, Florida. Barkov is entering his ninth year with the Panthers; only Jonathan Huberdeau, entering his 10th season, has been with Florida longer. The contract is the largest in terms of total value in Panthers history, topping the $70 million, seven-year deal for goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky in 2019. Barkov becomes the 12th active player in the NHL with a contract with a total value of at least $80 million. ___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.

Aleksander Barkov and the Florida Panthers have agreed on an $80 million, eight-year contract extension with an annual cap hit of $10 million.

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid ran away in the voting to win his second Hart Trophy as NHL MVP after leading the league in points.

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews and Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon have been named finalists for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP.

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy knew it wasn't his team's night when David Pastrnak missed a wide open net with the potential go-ahead goal.

SUNRISE, Fla. — (AP) — The Florida Panthers entrusted their season to a rookie goalie making his playoff debut. The 20-year-old Knight stopped 36 shots, Mackenzie Weegar had a goal and an assist, and the Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 on Monday night in Game 5 of their Central Division playoff series. But Knight — the third different goalie to start for Florida in this series — stymied the reigning Stanley Cup champions. Knight was 4-0-0 after turning pro following his sophomore season at Boston College and signing with the Panthers. Knight stopped each of the last 36 shots he faced.

The Florida Panthers entrusted their season to a rookie goalie making his playoff debut.

Brayden Point scored two late goals, including the game-winner with 1:14 left in the third period, to lift the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning over the Florida Panthers 5-4 to take Game 1 of their playoff series.

There used to be a thing called the Governor’s Cup, a trophy presented to whichever team won the annual regular season series between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Some of the NHL's top teams got a head start on the trade deadline by making moves.

Florida’s 6-1-2 start through nine games is the second-best in franchise history, topped only by the 6-0-3 record to open the 1996-97 season. “We've been consistent in most games," Florida coach Joel Quenneville said. Starting poorly, however, has pretty much snuffed out some Panthers seasons before they even started. The five Florida teams that went to the playoffs — 1995-96, 1996-97, 1999-2000, 2011-12 and 2015-16 — averaged 12 standings points through the season’s first nine games. There’s obviously a long way to go, but the Panthers finally have the start they wanted.