Chris Driedger FLA

With the NHL pausing the 2019-20 regular season on March 12 due to the concerns surrounding the coronavirus, NHL.com is taking stock of each of the League's 31 teams.
Today, a fantasy recap of the Florida Panthers at the pause:
NOTE: Rank for most-valuable fantasy player is based on standard-category production to date.

MORE FANTASY COVERAGE:
Top 250 at pause
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Season snapshots
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Injury tracker
Fantasy MVP: Jonathan Huberdeau, LW (rank: 22) --After scoring an NHL career-high 92 points (tied for 12th) last season, Huberdeau is tied for 10th this season with 78 points (23 goals, 55 assists) in 69 games. He leads the Florida Panthers in assists, points and power-play points (29; fifth in NHL), and ranks third among all left wings in scoring behind Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers (95 points) and Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins (87). Huberdeau also has a much better plus/minus rating (plus-5) than last season (minus-14). He and center Aleksander Barkov continue to be one of the most valuable fantasy duos in the League.

Biggest surprise: Chris Driedger, G --The Panthers signed top free agent goalie Sergei Bobrovsky in the offseason, but Driedger has been much more efficient when he's gotten the chance to play. He is 7-2-1 with one shutout in 12 games and leads the NHL with a 2.05 goals-against average and .938 save percentage among goalies who have played at least 10 games. Driedger's peripherals are far better than Bobrovsky's (3.23 GAA, .900 SV% in 50 games), and he has thrived during Bobrovsky's recent absence because of a lower-body injury, going 2-0-1 with a .955 SV% in the final three games before the pause.

Unsung hero: Noel Acciari, C/RW --He signed a three-year contract with the Panthers as a free agent last offseason and is having a breakout season with an NHL career-high 20 goals; he entered the season with 18 goals in 180 NHL games. The fantasy highlight of Acciari's season was when he had a hat trick in consecutive games Dec. 16 and 20. Acciari, who has earned time in the top six on occasion this season, leads the Panthers with 121 hits and is first among NHL forwards in blocked shots with 103, 14 more than the Nashville Predators' Nick Bonino in second (89).
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