Hot start by Hoffman gets Quenneville’s trust

Left winger headed to first line thanks to six points in three games

CORAL SPRINGS — During his 23-year coaching career, Joel Quenneville’s been known to juggle his forward lines, and this season has been no exception.

Coming off Tuesday’s 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, the Florida Panthers’ coach is experimenting with some different combinations, including bumping Mike Hoffman to the first line after a hot start to the season.

Through three games, the left winger has tallied a team-best six points (four goals, two assists), highlighted by a hat trick in Saturday’s home victory versus the Tampa Bay Lightning. Hoffman, 29, started 2019 on the second line with Vincent Trocheck and Brett Connolly, but was moved up Tuesday night, taking Evgenii Dadonov’s spot, after the Panthers fell in a 4-0 first period hole.

Skating with Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau, the revamped first line performed

well in a limited sample size, recording 13 shots to just three shots against during 7:01 of ice time in five on five. Hoffman had a pair of assists in the loss, which dropped Florida to 1-2-0 on the season.

During Thursday’s practice at the Panthers IceDen, the trio worked together again on the first line ahead of Friday night’s game at Buffalo.

“They’ve got some terrific upside with play recognition, patience with the puck,” Quenneville said of the forward line. “Hoff’s got a big shot, Hubey can make plays, Barky’s everywhere, so [the group] does a little bit of everything. It should have the ingredients to be effective and they’ve played together in the past.

“Hoff ’s playing well and it’s an opportunity for the three to have the puck more as a team and if they have it more, we’re going to be in a better spot.”

Acquired prior to last season from the San Jose Sharks, Hoffman notched a career-best 70 points last year (36 goals, 34 assists) during his first season in South Florida. Hoffman, who’s making $5.65 million in the final year of his contract, also led the Panthers in goals.

While Hoffman juggled between lines SunSentinel.com/sports

last season, he has some familiarity with Barkov and Huberdeau, playing 160:16 minutes of ice time together in five on five. All three also spent time together on the Panthers power play as well.

Known for his lethal left-handed slap shot, Hoffman scored twice off Huberdeau power-play assists in Florida’s win versus Tampa Bay.

While playing with Barkov and Huberdeau, who both posted 90-point seasons last year, definitely has its advantages, Hoffman is still focused on going about his regular routine.

“They’re both All-Star players, so they’re fairly easy to play with,” Hoffman said. “When things aren’t going well or we’re down a bit, they’ll juggle the lines and you have to be prepared to play with anyone, so you can’t be really focused too much on what other guys do.

“You still want to play your same game; play hard and bring what you have to the table and hopefully you can benefit with other players you’re playing with.”