EDMONTON — The goal was Aleksander Barkov in a nutshell.
In a 0-0 game, the reigning Selke Trophy victor reminded the hockey world — and particularly the Edmonton Oilers — that he’s not a one-trick, defense-minded pony.
You could hear the admiration as Florida Panthers teammate Evan Rodrigues described it.
“Wins the puck battle in his own zone. Doesn’t try to make a skilled play. Just takes it up the wall. Fends (defenseman Evan Bouchard) off. Turns up. Finds a late guy (Gustav Forsling). And it ends up in the back of the net (from Sam Reinhart).
“Simple playoff hockey. And he’s been doing a great job for us all playoffs long.”
Reinhart with the opening goal, but Barkov just pivotal in this sequence pic.twitter.com/7ujHltAkEc
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) June 14, 2024
And in the end?
The Panthers captain, who in 11 seasons in the NHL has been through so many ups and downs with the Panthers, would later match the franchise record with his fourth game-winning goal of the playoffs.
Not bad for a guy who was feared to be concussed Monday night from a Leon Draisaitl forearm to the face midway through the third period of Game 2. And not bad for a guy who was rumored to have a broken jaw a day later.
That turned out not to be the case, as Barkov practiced Wednesday and then played like his normal “complete player” self Thursday in a 4-3 win over the Oilers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The win brought the Panthers to the brink of a sweep and has Barkov a single victory from being the first player wearing a Panthers uniform in their 31-year history to hoist the Cup.
The Panthers break the puck out and Barkov quickly makes it 4-1 pic.twitter.com/E8enjcqozo
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) June 14, 2024
“He is everything for us,” teammate Matthew Tkachuk said. “He is our captain. He is our leader. Going down late in Game 2, a one-goal game, you never want to see that. But it was great to see him ready to go tonight. I thought he was so good … like he has been all playoffs and all season.”
“You never want to be without your captain,” Rodrigues added. “I mean, we were ready to play no matter what. But, obviously, really nice to have him.”
The Panthers’ all-time leader in virtually every regular-season category and their all-time leader in playoff points recorded his eighth multi-point game of the playoffs to establish a Panthers mark for a single postseason.
It was his 17th career multi-point game in the playoffs, tying Teemu Selanne and Sebastian Aho for fifth most among Finnish-born players.
At five-on-five through two periods — before the Oilers put forth an attempted third-period rally — Barkov crushed it, with the Panthers earning 87 percent of the expected-goals share in his minutes, per Natural Stat Trick. The goals were 2-0 Panthers with him on the ice at even strength, and after facing mostly Connor McDavid head-to-head in Games 1 and 2 in Florida and holding the superstar to no goals, Barkov faced Draisaitl head-to-head for five minutes in Game 3.
In that time, the Panthers had a 7-3 edge in shot attempts, a 4-2 edge in shots on goal and 60 percent of the expected-goals share. Barkov also had two hits and won nine of 13 faceoffs.
“He plays the game the right way,” said Sam Bennett, who scored the Panthers’ third goal. “It’s pretty special to see a guy so committed. As gifted as he is offensively, he’s so committed to playing defense and shutting guys down, blocking shots. When you have your All-Star captain playing that way, it carries on to every single guy in the locker room.”
Added Carter Verhaeghe: “He’s our best player, and he’s been showing it all playoffs, and he’s so good blocking shots, making huge plays, big goals. I mean, I can’t say enough about Barky. He’s our leader, and we just try and follow him.”
Players always say that about their captain, but it’s especially true about Barkov. When you’re a teammate and see your captain and best player taking so much care on the defensive side of the puck, you have no choice but to follow suit.
The Panthers are the league’s best defensive team, and their captain is the league’s best defensive player.
“Some of the games that he’s played this year where he’s had the most impact, he doesn’t show up on the scoresheet,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “And then what his gift is, he defines everyone else’s game. Barkov is like, ‘This is what I’m willing to do. This is how I’m going to play the game.’
“His consistency with that game and the number of nights that he’s not on the scoresheet necessarily, but everybody on the bench is going, ‘Oh my God, that guy’s a player.’ That’s his gift to us.”
The Panthers were businesslike and levelheaded after Thursday’s win, even though you can tell they can taste, smell and see the Stanley Cup on the horizon.
That’s also Barkov’s personality.
He is Mr. Even-Keel and was that way again after their 102nd game of the season.
“It’s there for us, but you don’t think about it,” he said. “You can’t think about it. All you have to do is take one moment at a time. Right now we have to enjoy this win. We battled really hard today and we had a good win and we’ll just enjoy this. (On Friday) we need to recover and get ready for the game. That’s about it. We never think too much ahead.”
Unless Game 103 is the Panthers’ last and ends with a well-earned silver trophy high above Barkov’s head.
(Photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
