40 goals for Sam Reinhart: How the Panthers’ All-Star got to the milestone
At this point in the season, the Florida Panthers’ focus is on team success over individual milestones.
But for more than two weeks, Sam Reinhart tried to minimize the pressure he put on himself as he sat one goal away from his latest big milestone only to come up empty game after game.
“You feel it for sure,” Reinhart said.
On Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens, after failing to score for a season-high seven consecutive games, Reinhart was finally able to exhale.
Reinhart scored his 40th goal of the season, a second-period power-play goal on a feed from Matthew Tkachuk behind the net — a pass-and-shoot combination that has worked so many times this season.
For good measure, Reinhart scored a game-tying, shorthanded goal with 6:55 left in regulation that allowed the Panthers to get the game to overtime and eventually win in a shootout.
“It’s felt like a long time coming,” Reinhart said, “so it’s nice to get back on the scoresheet.”
Prior to scoring on Thursday, Reinhart’s most recent goal came on Feb. 10 in Florida’s win over the Colorado Avalanche. He had 17 shots on goal over that seven-game scoring drought.
“He’s back,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “I thought in that gap, there were chances that didn’t quite go. Maybe last year, you’d start worrying about it. I wasn’t even remotely worried about it. He looked like he was right back on it after it went in to get him to 40. That’s a huge milestone. It’s incredibly difficult and there are just very few men in the history of the game that get to the 40-goal mark. It’s a huge accomplishment. He’s earned it.”
Here’s a by-the-numbers look at Reinhart’s journey to 40 goals and the significance behind the mark.
4: Reinhart is one of four players in franchise history to
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