Catching fire at the halfway point of the season, Boqvist has been one of Florida’s hottest forwards as of late, recording eight points (five goals, three assists) in his last eight games.
During that stretch, he’s logged at least one point in six games.
“Sometimes they go in, and sometimes not,” said Boqvist, who was inked to a one-year deal with the Panthers in July. “Our line’s played pretty well. We’re working hard and winning a lot of pucks down low, trying to play with speed. When we have time and space to do stuff, we will.”
He’s not wrong about the new line.
Recently put together by head coach Paul Maurice, the trio of Anton Lundell, Carter Verhaeghe and Boqvist has posted some strong numbers over 43:16 of 5-on-5 ice time.
In that time, Florida has led 4-1 in goals and 30-23 in scoring chances.
A versatile addition, it’s one of just many lines that Boqvist has played on this season.
“He’s earned it,” Maurice said of the speedy Swede’s breakout. “We’ve used him at left wing, right wing and center. He’s played with different people. He’s a really competitive guy. I think that line with Lundy and Verhaeghe, there’ some quickness on pucks.”
Despite being only recently rewarded, Boqvist’s strong play started back in October.
“You like to see that for guys that played hard all year,” Maurice said of the 26-year-old sparkplug. “In the first half, maybe their numbers aren’t what they would like. To get a little reward on the road at this time, it sets them up for a real strong second half.”
Hoping to stay hot, Boqvist will look to keep piling up points when the Panthers face-off against his former team in the Boston Bruins on Saturday at Amerant Bank Arena.
With puck drop at 1 p.m. ET, click HERE to score tickets.
