Bjugstad off to hot start
Forward coming off two-point night
For Florida Panthers forward Nick Bjugstad, this season is one of redemption. He struggled through an injury-plagued season last year, only scoring seven goals. He saw his position at center usurped by Jared McCann in the preseason.
That hasn’t stopped him from racing out of the gate in the season’s first two games.
Bjugstad, now playing right wing on the third line, registered a goal and an assist in Florida’s 5-4 homeopening win on Saturday night, one night after a strong effort in Tampa Bay.
“I think Bjugy’s been our best player in the last two games,” Panthers coach Bob Boughner said.
During the preseason, Bjugstad said he spent more time on the ice in the summer than he typically does, eschewing time in the weight room. It’s resulted in a slimmer, faster Bjugstad through the opening two games.
Bjugstad cracked the scoresheet with a breakaway finish after a long feed from Evgenii Dadonov. He finished with a wrist shot that beat Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, and later added an assist on McCann’s go-ahead goal.
Bjugstad, McCann and Connor Brickley have been a potent third line early on, with each player scoring a goal in the first two nights. It’s the only Panthers line that has three goal-scorers on it. The first line of Dadonov, Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov leads the team with seven combined points.
“It felt good,” Bjugstad said after the game Saturday night. “Playing with Brickley and McCann, I feel like we’re clicking pretty well. It’s fun out there. … I think the effort was definitely there and that made the difference tonight.”
Bjugstad impressed Boughner and the Panthers coaches enough to earn a few shifts with the second line on Saturday night. But Boughner said the change was likely temporary.
“There was so many penalties and so many special teams there that I was just trying to spread ice time out at the end and get fresh guys out there,” Boughner said. “Both teams looked a little tired at the end. I was just trying to find guys that were fresh.”
Bjugstad still takes faceoffs from the right circle while McCann handles the ones in the left circle, but he’s shined early as a winger. He said the biggest difference comes on defense, where centers are typically around the puck and wingers need to find ways to speed into the rush.
“I am definitely capable of doing both,” Bjugstad said before the season. inject