Duclair’s outstanding start continues, keeps Cats unbeaten
Anthony Duclair said he didn’t feel any extra pressure on Saturday despite the circumstances that unfolded. The Florida Panthers were playing the Carolina Hurricanes, a battle between the two remaining teams in the NHL without a regulation loss, and they were doing it without top-line center and team captain Aleksander Barkov, who was a late scratch with a lower-body injury.
“We all wanted to give a little more,” Duclair said, “and that’s what we did.”
Yes, that could be said collectively about the Panthers, who jumped out to a
four-goal lead in the first period and won 5-2 at FLA Live Arena.
But there’s something to be said about Duclair’s performance specifically, both on Saturday and in the season overall to this point.
Duclair recorded a career-high four points — two goals and two assists — in the win. Three of those points came on the power play, which he had little playing time on prior to Saturday.
Through 11 games, he leads the Panthers with eight goals and is in a three-way tie with Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau with a team-leading 12 points.
“I feel pretty good,” Duclair said. “I think our whole line was feeling pretty good about ourselves. Our whole team, we all have a bunch of confidence. When everyone’s playing well, it’s just so easy to come to the rink and have fun, so we’ re all having fun right now.”
As for where he stands among the rest of the league:
His eight goals are tied for third in the NHL through Saturday’s games. His seven goals at even strength is in a five-way tie for the NHL lead along with the Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin, Tampa Bay Lightning’s Alex Killorn, the Detroit Red Wings’ Tyler Bertuzzi and Winnipeg Jets’ Kyle Connor.
He is plus-11 on the season, meaning the Panthers are outscoring opponents by 11 goals when Duclair is on the ice in even-strength or shorthanded situations. Only three players in the NHL have a higher rating.
He’s scoring goals on 36.4 percent of his shots, the highest efficiency among players who have taken at least 20 shots on goal.
“He’s been a threat all season,” interim coach Andrew Brunette said. “When he’s using his speed and he’s on the puck, and he’s harder on pucks, he gets his opportunities. He probably could’ve had a few more, but he was great.”
PERSPECTIVE ON PANTHERS’ START
Just how good is the Panthers’ 10-0-1 start to the season? Consider ...
Only two other teams in NHL history — the 1994-95 Pittsburgh Penguins and 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres — opened a season by recording 21 points in the standings over their first 11 games of the season.
The Panthers are one game shy of tying their longest point streak to start a season in franchise history. They started the 199697 season with an 8-0-4 record.
The Panthers’ previous record for least amount of games to get 10 wins was 14, done twice (1995-96, 2020-21).
But the Panthers don’t plan to rest on their early success. They know a long season remains.
“I can’t speak for everyone, but me personally, I don’t even look at standings or anything,” goaltender Spencer Knight said Saturday. “Can’t win the Cup in October or November. We’ll enjoy this one, but we’ve got a game in two days.”
The Panthers will spend the next week on the road, playing four games in the span of six days.
The stretch starts Monday against the New York Rangers and then continues Tuesday against the New Jersey Devils, Thursday against the Pittsburgh Penguins and wraps up Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.