The Florida Panthers may not be the best team in the Atlantic Division, Eastern Conference, or even the NHL, but rest assured, they have been a team of destiny over their past three games. Whether it was Brady Tkachuk scoring back-to-back natural hat tricks, Carter Verhaeghe collecting one of his own, or Sam Bennett scoring Florida's fourth hat trick in just three games, the Cats have been rewriting the record books. Although those three players have dominated the headlines, several other fascinating statistical achievements deserve attention. Let's take a closer look at four of them.
Seth Jones sets Panthers scoring record for defensemen
Lost among the many hat tricks through nine games is that Seth Jones has quietly collected 10 points. The 32-year-old rearguard has one goal and has collected nine assists, giving him the most points by a Panthers defenseman in the first nine games of the season. Previously, five players managed a point-per-game average through Florida's first nine games, including Robert Svehla (1995), Keith Ballard (2008), Bryan McCabe (2008), Keith Yandle (2018), and Aaron Ekblad (2021). Now, Jones stands alone with the most points by a Panthers defenseman through the team's first nine games.
Matthew Tkachuk is outpacing his career-best season
After arriving in Florida in the summer of 2022, Matthew Tkachuk would go on to become only the second player in franchise history to collect 100 points, finishing the 2022-23 season with 109 points. That year, he had five goals and 13 points through nine games, good enough for a 1.44 points-per-game average. Right now, he’s got three goals and 14 points in nine games, equaling a 1.56 points-per-game average.
Brady Tkachuk is enjoying the hottest stretch of his NHL career
By now, everyone is aware of the back-to-back hat tricks Brady scored on Tuesday and Thursday, which made him one of three NHL players to ever record natural hat tricks in consecutive games. However, lost in the endless highlights of his goals is the fact that he was goalless and had only one point in his first five games. Over his past four contests, Tkachuk has collected 10 points, including six goals and four assists, marking the most productive four-game stretch of his nine-year NHL career.
Panthers can match NHL hat trick history against Ottawa
Right now, 31 fanbases are tired of watching all the Florida game recaps loaded with hat tricks after hat tricks. But there are two fanbases, the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers, that should be tuned in to the Panthers' next contest against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. Historically, only the 1982 Edmonton Oilers and 1992 Calgary Flames have recorded hat tricks in four consecutive games, a feat the Panthers can match Tuesday against Brady's former team in Canada's capital.
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