Latest news with #Barkov
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
A player that epitomizes the Panthers' success? Look no further than Aleksander Barkov
In a span of eight seconds, Aleksander Barkov showcased just about everything that makes him one of the National Hockey League's top players and the epitome of the Florida Panthers' recent run of success. Barkov receives the puck from Sam Reinhart along the right wall and begins his magic. As he moves around the boards, going behind the net and looking for open space, Barkov muscles his way past Dmitry Orlov, stops and spins. With a couple taps of his stick, he eludes another defender in Eric Robinson and makes his way to the front of the net. And then, in one swift motion, he sends the puck across the goalmouth, just beyond the reach of Alexander Nikishin's stick, to Carter Verhaeghe, who roofs a tough-angle shot into the net for the Panthers' game-winning — and Eastern Conference final-clinch — goal against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday. 'Such a great player,' Verhaeghe said. 'It was such a great play by him. It was all him.' Added Reinhart: 'He's got so much strength. Big players make big plays at the biggest moments when you need them, and he's certainly the leader of this team.' Barkov is as fitting of a player to fit that role. The Panthers are a team that preaches selflessness. Every player on the team — from Barkov and stars such as Matthew Tkachuk, Sergei Bobrovsky and Brad Marchand to players fighting for playing time in Uvis Balinskis, Jesper Boqvist and Nico Sturm — is treated equally. No one is bigger than anyone else in the dressing room. The camaraderie of the team's core along with the integration of newcomers to round out the roster each year has fed into Florida's success, which has the Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final for a third consecutive year and in a position to repeat as champions. It's a position Barkov longed to see. He was here during the team's lean years. Florida made the postseason just once in Barkov's first six seasons before things finally started to turn over the past half-dozen years. There were doubts Florida would ever consistently make the playoffs, let alone be annual Stanley Cup contenders. That's a thing of the past now. 'I think it was a long time coming,' Barkov said. 'Obviously, there's been a lot of work put in by this organization to become better and reach the level where we want to win Stanley Cups, we want to compete for Stanley Cups every single year. There are 31 other teams in the league, and it's hard every single year. They want to do that too, so it's not easy. But we've managed to do it three years in a row, which is, I think, an incredible achievement so far.' For that success to occur, the respect and trust has to be established from the top. There had to be a driving force inside the room to establish the foundation and keep the drive and hunger going. That is Aleksander Barkov. 'Sasha has almost become like a planet, with the energy that comes from him,' said Panthers president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito, who took over ahead of the 2020-21 season and has said multiple times how fortunate he was to already have Barkov as a franchise cornerstone. 'How caring he is as a human and a teammate — he forces you to want to be better. It cannot be overstated the grace of each of our guys. If you came into the meal room you wouldn't know who just scored the winning goal and who didn't play.' Barkov doesn't need the praise — and frankly, he doesn't want it. That's not how he operates. Ever since the Panthers selected him second overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Level Draft, the elite two-way center from Finland has done his best to make as much of an impact for the Panthers without making waves. Even after taking over as captain ahead of the 2018-19 season, Barkov didn't change his approach. Why would he? 'Just being myself,' Barkov said, 'and doing my job as good as possible.' That's more than enough to command the attention and respect of his teammates. Barkov owns basically every record of merit for a skater in Panthers franchise history — games played (804), goals (286), assists (496), points (782), power-play goals (84), game-winning goals (52), multipoint games (209), multigoal games (33), the list keeps going. He became the first Finnish-born player to captain his team to a Stanley Cup when Florida beat Edmonton in seven games last year. And through all the success, he remains humble. He's still one of the first on the ice every day at practice, a regular during optional workouts because he knows the example he sets by being on the ice. He twice has won the Selke Trophy given annually to the league's top defensive forward and is nominated for the award again this year. 'He's just trying to do everything right, by the book,' said defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, who is in his second stint with the Panthers and was on that 2013-14 roster when Barkov was a rookie. 'He doesn't cheat the the game. He's an honest player. He just works his bag off and obviously has a lot of skill to complement his hard work. When you see a guy like that, your captain, being the hardest working guy, that brings everybody with him.' Added Tkachuk: 'That's the stuff that fires us up the most is the little battles, the little stick lifts, the 1-on-1 wins, the little plays, the skills that maybe the average fan doesn't notice, but we definitely notice. He's the full package. I've seen it here for almost three years now. It's an honor to play with him, so lucky to share the ice with him.' Oops. There's more praise. Barkov would probably want that spread around to the rest of the team. There's good reason for that, especially on this current playoff run. Consider this: The Panthers enter the Stanley Cup Final with 19 players who have scored at least one goal and 10 players who have produced at least 11 points this postseason — with Barkov leading with 17 points (six goals, 11 assists). Florida's balance and depth has been its calling card all season, something that was only amplified at the trade deadline when the Panthers added Marchand and defenseman Seth Jones into the mix. That said, the success starts somewhere. It starts with the leader who makes everyone feel appreciated, the player who knows how to say a lot without really needing to say anything. It starts with Aleksander Barkov. 'We are getting contributions from everybody,' Tkachuk said, 'but he has definitely been been leading the charge, and we're so lucky to be able to follow him.'
NBC Sports
3 days ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
The Panthers, led by their captain Aleksander Barkov, are headed back to the Stanley Cup Final
The entire play took eight seconds, and basically summed up why the Florida Panthers have enormous, nonstop belief in Aleksander Barkov. Third period, Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, game tied at 3. Barkov picks up the puck in the right corner. He skates around the end boards, as Carolina defenseman Dmitry Orlov is trying to use his entire 214-pound frame to move Barkov one direction or the other. Orlov had no chance. Barkov stopped on a dime, turned around, ducked back toward the net and slid the puck to a place that only Florida's Carter Verhaeghe could reach. Verhaeghe turned that pass into the winner, and with that, the Panthers were headed back to their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final. In Barky They Trusted. Again. 'Such a great player,' Verhaeghe said. 'It was such a great play by him. It was all him.' The funny part is that Barkov would hate hearing such praise, and he surely would never say anything like that about himself. He is a most unassuming superstar, someone who doesn't care about the spotlight, someone who was legitimately surprised when fans recognized him last year at a Florida Atlantic basketball game in Boca Raton — about 20 minutes north of where the Panthers play their home games. But he is Florida's best player. And he has led the defending Stanley Cup champions back to the title round for a third consecutive season. 'He's one of the best in the world at that, if not the best,' Florida forward Sam Reinhart said. 'He's got so much strength. Big players make big plays at the biggest moments when you need them, and he's certainly the leader of this team.' Florida moves on to face either Edmonton or Dallas in the Stanley Cup Final. There will be intrigue either way. If the Oilers — who lead the Stars 3-1 in the Western Conference finals — get there, it'll be the 11th title-round rematch in the Stanley Cup era and the first since Pittsburgh and Detroit played for the trophy in 2008 and 2009. If the Stars get there, it'll pit Panthers coach Paul Maurice against Dallas coach Peter DeBoer, his former assistant in the Ontario Hockey League and one of his closest friends. It'll also be the first times Florida and Dallas play each other in the U.S. this season; their two matchups this year were in Finland back in November, the Panthers winning both. 'The most important step is ahead of us,' goalie Sergei Bobrovsky said. The Panthers are the ninth franchise in NHL history to make the Stanley Cup Final in at least three consecutive seasons. Barkov became the first Finnish captain to get the honor of having the inaugural hoist of the Cup when Florida won the title last year, and he was there through a lot of lean years for the Panthers. Forget the Cup final; the Panthers couldn't make the playoffs for much of their history. That seems so long ago now. No team has played more postseason games in the last four years than the Panthers, and there's at least four more games this season left to go. 'I think it was a long time coming,' Barkov said. 'Obviously, there's been a lot of work put in by this organization to become better and reach the level where we want to win Stanley Cups, we want compete for Stanley Cups every single year. There are 31 other teams in the league and it's hard every single year. They want to do that too, so it's not easy. But we've managed to do it three years in a row, which is, I think, an incredible achievement so far.' Aaron Ekblad is in his 11th season as a Panther — one behind Barkov — and he remembers those tough times. Florida once missed the playoffs by a point during their tenure; some years, they missed by five or six wins. They weren't terrible. They just weren't that good. But he remembers why he always remained steadfast in the belief that the franchise would get to this point. 'We've always had Sasha Barkov,' Ekblad said. 'So, there was always hope, especially in those down years. We always had Barky to lead the way.' He led then. He led now. And another trip to the final awaits.
National Post
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- National Post
'Let's go, Oilers,' some defiant fans chant as Panthers head back to the Stanley Cup Final
Article content Article content 'They're a great team and it's obvious the last couple of years, they're the standard, obviously,' Brind'Amour said. 'I thought our guy battled really hard all series.' Article content Tkachuk, Evan Rodrigues and Anton Lundell scored on consecutive shots during Florida's second-period flurry — two of those coming in a 30-second span — while Bobrovsky finished with 20 saves. Article content Barkov's assist on Verhaeghe's winner also stood out as its own terrific individual effort. Florida's captain was jostling with Carolina's Dmitry Orlov in a battle near the boards on the left side when he turned toward the crease, stepped inside of Eric Robinson and sent the puck over to Verhaeghe for the finish that silenced a Hurricanes home crowd in full-throated roar after Jarvis' tying score. Article content Article content 'He took on one guy, then two guys and then gave the puck to me with a pretty open net,' Verhaeghe said. 'So it was an unbelievable play by Barky at a critical time.' Article content Sebastian Aho scored twice in the first period for Carolina, both on neutral-zone giveaways — the first being one from Gustav Forsling that hit Aho in stride for a a breakaway chance that ended up in the net. Aho added another off a giveaway from Niko Mikkola with little more than a minute left in the first for a 2-0 lead. Article content Carolina has won at least one postseason series in its current run of seven straight playoff appearances, though three have now ended in the Eastern final. Two of those had ended in sweeps in a losing conference-final losing streak that reached 15 games _ dating to sweeps in 2009, 2019 and the 2023 first tilt with the Panthers — before Monday's Game 4 win.
CBS News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
In Barkov They Trust: Florida Panthers, led by their captain, head back to Stanley Cup Final
The entire play took eight seconds, and basically summed up why the Florida Panthers have enormous, nonstop belief in Aleksander Barkov. Third period, Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, game tied at 3. Barkov picks up the puck in the right corner. He skates around the end boards, as Carolina defenseman Dmitry Orlov is trying to use his entire 214-pound frame to move Barkov one direction or the other. Orlov had no chance. Barkov stopped on a dime, turned around, ducked back toward the net and slid the puck to a place that only Florida's Carter Verhaeghe could reach. Verhaeghe turned that pass into the winner, and with that, the Panthers were headed back to their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final. In Barky They Trusted. Again. "Such a great player," Verhaeghe said. "It was such a great play by him. It was all him." Florida's most unassuming star The funny part is that Barkov would hate hearing such praise, and he surely would never say anything like that about himself. He is a most unassuming superstar, someone who doesn't care about the spotlight, someone who was legitimately surprised when fans recognized him last year at a Florida Atlantic basketball game in Boca Raton — about 20 minutes north of where the Panthers play their home games. But he is Florida's best player. And he has led the defending Stanley Cup champions back to the title round for a third consecutive season. "He's one of the best in the world at that, if not the best," Florida forward Sam Reinhart said. "He's got so much strength. Big players make big plays at the biggest moments when you need them, and he's certainly the leader of this team." Whether the Oilers or Stars, the Panthers get ready to pounce Florida moves on to face either Edmonton or Dallas in the Stanley Cup Final. There will be intrigue either way. If the Oilers — who lead the Stars 3-1 in the Western Conference finals — get there, it'll be the 11th title-round rematch in the Stanley Cup era and the first since Pittsburgh and Detroit played for the trophy in 2008 and 2009. If the Stars get there, it'll pit Panthers coach Paul Maurice against Dallas coach Peter DeBoer, his former assistant in the Ontario Hockey League and one of his closest friends. It'll also be the first times Florida and Dallas play each other in the U.S. this season; their two matchups this year were in Finland back in November, the Panthers winning both. "The most important step is ahead of us," goalie Sergei Bobrovsky said. Going for the history books again The Panthers are the ninth franchise in NHL history to make the Stanley Cup Final in at least three consecutive seasons. Barkov became the first Finnish captain to get the honor of having the inaugural hoist of the Cup when Florida won the title last year, and he was there through a lot of lean years for the Panthers. Forget the Cup final; the Panthers couldn't make the playoffs for much of their history. That seems so long ago now. No team has played more postseason games in the last four years than the Panthers, and there's at least four more games this season left to go. "I think it was a long time coming," Barkov said. "Obviously, there's been a lot of work put in by this organization to become better and reach the level where we want to win Stanley Cups, we want compete for Stanley Cups every single year. There are 31 other teams in the league and it's hard every single year. They want to do that too, so it's not easy. But we've managed to do it three years in a row, which is, I think, an incredible achievement so far." Teammates trust Barkov to lead the way Aaron Ekblad is in his 11th season as a Panther — one behind Barkov — and he remembers those tough times. Florida once missed the playoffs by a point during their tenure; some years, they missed by five or six wins. They weren't terrible. They just weren't that good. But he remembers why he always remained steadfast in the belief that the franchise would get to this point. "We've always had Sasha Barkov," Ekblad said. "So, there was always hope, especially in those down years. We always had Barky to lead the way." He led then. He led now. And another trip to the final awaits.
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
In Barkov They Trust: The Panthers, led by their captain, are headed back to the Stanley Cup Final
The entire play took eight seconds, and basically summed up why the Florida Panthers have enormous, nonstop belief in Aleksander Barkov. Third period, Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, game tied at 3. Barkov picks up the puck in the right corner. He skates around the end boards, as Carolina defenseman Dmitry Orlov is trying to use his entire 214-pound frame to move Barkov one direction or the other. Orlov had no chance. Barkov stopped on a dime, turned around, ducked back toward the net and slid the puck to a place that only Florida's Carter Verhaeghe could reach. Verhaeghe turned that pass into the winner, and with that, the Panthers were headed back to their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final. In Barky They Trusted. Again. 'Such a great player,' Verhaeghe said. 'It was such a great play by him. It was all him.' The funny part is that Barkov would hate hearing such praise, and he surely would never say anything like that about himself. He is a most unassuming superstar, someone who doesn't care about the spotlight, someone who was legitimately surprised when fans recognized him last year at a Florida Atlantic basketball game in Boca Raton — about 20 minutes north of where the Panthers play their home games. But he is Florida's best player. And he has led the defending Stanley Cup champions back to the title round for a third consecutive season. 'He's one of the best in the world at that, if not the best,' Florida forward Sam Reinhart said. 'He's got so much strength. Big players make big plays at the biggest moments when you need them, and he's certainly the leader of this team.' Florida moves on to face either Edmonton or Dallas in the Stanley Cup Final. There will be intrigue either way. If the Oilers — who lead the Stars 3-1 in the Western Conference finals — get there, it'll be the 11th title-round rematch in the Stanley Cup era and the first since Pittsburgh and Detroit played for the trophy in 2008 and 2009. If the Stars get there, it'll pit Panthers coach Paul Maurice against Dallas coach Peter DeBoer, his former assistant in the Ontario Hockey League and one of his closest friends. It'll also be the first times Florida and Dallas play each other in the U.S. this season; their two matchups this year were in Finland back in November, the Panthers winning both. 'The most important step is ahead of us,' goalie Sergei Bobrovsky said. The Panthers are the ninth franchise in NHL history to make the Stanley Cup Final in at least three consecutive seasons. Barkov became the first Finnish captain to get the honor of having the inaugural hoist of the Cup when Florida won the title last year, and he was there through a lot of lean years for the Panthers. Forget the Cup final; the Panthers couldn't make the playoffs for much of their history. That seems so long ago now. No team has played more postseason games in the last four years than the Panthers, and there's at least four more games this season left to go. 'I think it was a long time coming,' Barkov said. 'Obviously, there's been a lot of work put in by this organization to become better and reach the level where we want to win Stanley Cups, we want compete for Stanley Cups every single year. There are 31 other teams in the league and it's hard every single year. They want to do that too, so it's not easy. But we've managed to do it three years in a row, which is, I think, an incredible achievement so far.' Aaron Ekblad is in his 11th season as a Panther — one behind Barkov — and he remembers those tough times. Florida once missed the playoffs by a point during their tenure; some years, they missed by five or six wins. They weren't terrible. They just weren't that good. But he remembers why he always remained steadfast in the belief that the franchise would get to this point. ___
