ShareOver the course of an 82 game season, fans tend to lose sight of what really matters when it comes to sports.
Winning.
Kidding.
To be honest, Panthers fans have been starved for wins for so long that it’s about all they think about. We’re just over the halfway mark of the regular season and as the Panthers try to claw their way into the playoff picture, let’s take our minds off the hunt to honor the best that we’ve seen so far.
I took a poll of the rest of The Sunshine Skate staff to find out what they/we thought was the “best of” this half-season.
Have a look, stop and smell the roses. Enjoy being a fan.
The Pavel Bure Award: NHL MVP
Nat’s Pick: Nick Bjugstad
Pat’s Pick: Nick Bjugstad
Kris’ Pick: Roberto Luongo
AJ’s Pick: Roberto Luongo
Mike’s Pick: Roberto Luongo
Winner: Roberto Luongo
From AJ: I think this is pretty much a slam dunk. How can you not take Lu? Without his stalwart goaltending, it’s hard to imagine the Panthers waging the pursuit of a playoff spot like they currently are. As of the All-Star Break, he’s 17-10-8, with 2.32 GAA and .923 save percentage. He has been the steady, consistent force the Panthers have needed.
The Olli Jokinen Award: Best NHL Forward
Nat’s Pick: Aleksander Barkov
Pat’s Pick: Jonathan Huberdeau
Kris’ Pick: Jussi Jokinen
AJ’s Pick: Nick Bjugstad
Mike’s Pick: Nick Bjugstad
Winner: Nick Bjugstad
From AJ: I will admit, I’m a bit of a Bjugstad mark. He had a good rookie season last year and he’s having an even better sophomore year. He’s closing in on his total of goals for last season and there’s still plenty more season to go. Although, he’s gone into a bit of a slide goal scoring wise as we approached the All-Star break, he’s still chipping in with assists, and is getting closer to his total from last year. He should beat it by a pretty good margin, should he stay healthy.
The Jay Bouwmeester Award: Best NHL Defenseman
Nat’s Pick: Aaron Ekblad
Pat’s Pick: Aaron Ekblad
Kris’ Pick: Aaron Ekblad
AJ’s Pick: Dmitry Kulikov
Mike’s Pick: Aaron Ekblad
Winner: Aaron Ekblad
From Mike: While the vote was not unanimous, Aaron Ekblad comes away as the well deserved winner here. As of the All-Star break, Ekblad’s 28 points has him ranked second in team scoring (All Skaters) and 22nd among all NHL defensemen. Points aside, his poise with and without the puck along with his strong positional play has given the Panthers that strong blueline presence that drives possession that has alluded them for a long time. He’s eighteen years old, he’s an All-Star, he’s Aaron Ekblad.
The Steve Goldstein Award: Best Goal
The Dat (p)Ass Award: Best Assist
From Mike: All of our feelings for this assist can be found in the breakdown in the link. We have some serious romantic feelings about this assist.
The LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU Award: Best Save
From Mike: Luongo literally pushes his body to the limit of his physical ability to make this save.
The Northbound on a Southbound Freeway Award: Best Hit
From AJ on Bergenheim’s hit: Its been a long time since I’ve seen a hit this hard live. I could feel the impact all the way up in the 300s.
From Mike on Gudbranson’s hit: The thing that makes this hit stand out for me is the fact the Gudbranson is effectively saying “This is my blue line, you’re not getting in that easy.”
The Edge of Your Seat Award: Best Moment
Pat’s Pick: Florida Panthers VS. Washington Capitals Shootout
Kris’ Pick: Florida Panthers VS. Washington Capitals Shootout
AJ’s Pick: Florida Panthers VS. Washington Capitals Shootout
Mike’s Pick: Florida Panthers VS. Washington Capitals Shootout
Winner: The Shootout
From Mike: Hard to find a better moment for the Panthers this season. I had the pleasure of being at the game and I had never seen the BB&T Center crowd that emotionally invested in a game. Just prior to the 60 minute mark the Capitals had a goal waived off and that’s when the fans really got into it. The shootout was epic because of the length but also because of the fact that non-typical goal scorers did what they had to do to keep it going. I remember there were four or five times that I thought the game was over only to have Dave Bolland or Derek MacKenzie put it in the net. Great moment, one that I will never forget.
Mike Obrand can be reached for contact on Twitter or via email at mikeobrand@gmail.com.
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