Celebrini has had his share of highlight-reel plays this season as he entered Saturday’s game against Barkov and the Panthers with 35 points in 39 games. Celebrini’s 15 goals before Saturday’s game led all NHL rookies, even as the Sharks have stumbled to last place in the league’s overall standings.

Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice praised San Jose Sharks rookie phenom Macklin Celebrini by comparing him to Aleksander Barkov.

Among the throngs of South Floridians swept up in the Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup Championship run last season was a little cluster of fans who cheered on the team from their rooms at Joe

“It means the world to me, to be honest,” Barkov said. “It’s Athlete of the Year in Finland, the country where I was born, where I was raised and grew up watching national teams play and cheering for them. To get that honor, it’s huge for me. I’m really, really happy and really thankful to be able to get that award.”

Closing out the scoring explosion in the second period, Sam Reinhart took a tap pass from Tkachuk, who went flying through the slot to make it happen, and fired a shot into the back of the cage to put the Panthers up 7-2 at 16:25. In the third period, the Panthers shut the door.

After a strong first period in which they scored two goals in less than a minute, the San Jose Sharks went south quick and hard Saturday night in a 7-2 loss to the visiting Florida Panthers.

It’s been quite a run for Florida Panthers captain Sasha Barkov. He won the Selke Trophy and became the first Finnish captain to hoist the Stanley Cup back in June, while also playing a pair of ...

After missing each of the last seven games, top-pair defenseman Aaron Ekblad will return to the blue line for the Florida Panthers when they face-off against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday.

Welcome back to NHL Predictions! Today, like every day, Last Word on Hockey looks at the games happening and gives our predictions for each. We’ll also break down head-to-head matchups and other factors that may play a part.

Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov has made history as the first ice hockey player to be named Finland’s Athlete of the Year. The honour was announced at the Finnish Sports Gala in Helsinki on Thursday,

BOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Kings play the Florida Panthers in a non-conference matchup. Los Angeles has a 25-14-5 record overall and a 14-3-1 record in home games. The Kings have conceded 109 goals while scoring 129 for a +20 scoring differential.

The final NHL game on Wednesday's schedule will pit the defending champion Panthers against the Kings out on the West Coast.