When your team is struggling (like the Florida Panthers are, what with a six-game losing streak), it’s easy for a player like Mike Hoffman’s standout season to go under the radar. Especially when teammate Aleksander Barkov takes up a lot of the mainstream “underrated” talk, to the point where maybe that point is now overrated.
But that’s actually a point that makes the Panthers a little frustrating.
Barkov’s one of those guys who ranks as an elite, Selke-level forwards, and Hoffman put that Ottawa drama behind him to the tune of an impressive debut season with the Panthers.
He had a heck of a streak going earlier in 2018-19, and Hoffman appears slated to crush his career-high goals total of 29 from 2015-16. Hoffman’s going to have trouble topping his 22nd tally of this season, as he dusted off the awesome Peter Forsberg shootout move ... but against opposing defenders. Impressive.
This leaves Hoffman with 22 goals and 41 points with some time remaining in his 45th game. His career-high for points (61 in 2016-17) is also very much in play, even if he cools off his career-best pace.
The Panthers game was also noteworthy for this hit by Paul Byron, which only netted a two-minute penalty. Should it draw supplemental discipline? (UPDATE: Byron will have a Wednesday hearing with the Department of Player Safety.)
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.