SUNRISE, Fla. — It has become a familiar sound in Sunrise since the NHL season restarted last month following an uptick in COVID-19 cases around the league: The Florida Panthers pile up goals and creep their way toward history, and the crowd rewards them with a simple chant.
“We want 10! We want 10!”
On some nights, it takes until the third period. Sometimes, it pops up in the second. In the Panthers’ 9-2 rout of the Columbus Blue Jackets, the crowd didn’t even wait until 10 minutes were gone to serenade Florida again.
The Panthers (26-7-5) scored three goals in the first half of the first period — one at even strength, one on a power play and one on the penalty kill — and had four by the end of the opening frame. They scored again just 2:02 into the second period and then, after a rare 10-minute scoring drought, added another before the period ended to take a 6-0 lead into the third.
Right wing Patric Hornqvist scored with 9:46 to give Florida a 9-1 lead, but the Panthers never could find the 10th, which would’ve tied a franchise record for goals in a single game.
It was an absolute beatdown, the type Florida has made routine in the last three weeks, and the Panthers capped their perfect three-game homestand with their most lopsided win of the year.
Florida has now won eight of nine since the season restarted, including all six at home, and its only loss came in a shootout after it scored five goals in regulation. The Panthers are averaging six goals per game since the COVID-19 pause, and have scored at least four in every one and at least five in seven of their last eight. Their nine-game points streak has included an overtime win against the league-leading Carolina Hurricanes on the road, a nine-goal explosion against the defending-champion Tampa Bay Lightning and a seven-goal outburst against the Dallas Stars on Friday to avenge their only loss during the streak.
With nine more goals Saturday, Florida scored 16 total in a little more than 24 hours. The Panthers are now averaging more than four goals per game — joining the Colorado Avalanche as the only teams in the league scoring at least four a game — and, at least for the moment, have sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division and the best record in the NHL.
A lopsided win for Florida, even against a playoff-contending team like the Blue Jackets, isn’t surprising at this point. The latest one, however, might have been the purest distillation of what makes this team so incredible.
In the first period, the Panthers fired 19 shots on goal, generated 14 scoring chances and got eight high-danger chances. They scored at even strength after a pretty passing sequence drew Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins out of the goal to create an empty net for forward Carter Verhaeghe. They scored on a power play when Jonathan Huberdeau, the newly minted All-Star left wing, found fellow winger Anthony Duclair in the slot for a quick one-timer goal. Florida even got a goal shorthanded when star defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, of all people, led a breakaway and finished past Merzlikins for a 3-0 lead with 10:11 left in the first period.
Weegar also had three assists to lead the way with four points and star defenseman Aaron Ekblad, Weegar’s blue-line partner, added three assists of his own. Verhaghe and rookie center Anton Lundell both scored twice. Ten Panthers contributed multiple points — including Huberdeau and forward Sam Bennett, who scored his fourth goal in two days after notching a hat trick Friday — and Florida got multiple goals from three of its four forward lines. All but two of the Panthers’ forwards tallied at least one point.
The Blue Jackets (17-18-2) never surrendered that 10th goal, though. Florida will have to keep chasing.
