"He's a big reason the energy and the compete was so high today," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said. "He just ramps it up another notch in this group. He's seen it all and done it all. He brings that contagious energy and compete to our group. It's very valuable."
Heading into the All-Star break on the injured reserve list after suffering an upper-body injury at Calgary on Jan. 18, Hornqvist is expected to return to the lineup when the Panthers open up a big three-game road trip with a nationally-televised matchup against the Hurricanes on Feb. 16.
Prior to the injury, the 35-year-old had been playing a key role on the team's fourth line and on the power play. Averaging just over 13 minutes of ice time per contest, he'd recorded 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 37 games, with five of those points coming on the man advantage.
But as much as the team missed him, he was likely missing the team even more.
"It feels great," Hornqvist said of being back. "Obviously it was not the way I wanted to go into the break, being hurt and all that. But the break came at a good time for me, and I think the team as well. We were playing really well and then got these 10 days [off] and now we're back at it. It was a good scrimmage today. We've been working hard. The fun part is in front of us."
During the scrimmage, Hornqvist was slotted right back into a familiar spot on a line with Ryan Lomberg and Eetu Luostarinen. An energetic trio, that line was one of Florida's most-effective in the early goings of this campaign, providing good value on offense while also packing a punch.
Looking at NaturalStatTrick.com, the Panthers have led 182-122 in shot attempts, 85-65 in scoring chances and 9-6 in goals when that line has been deployed at 5-on-5 this season.
"We play well with each other, and we play good against the other team's top lines," Hornqvist said of the line, which has started less than 30% of its shifts in the offensive zone. "It doesn't matter who we're out there against. It's a good mix of players and we're having fun, for sure."
Taking on added responsibility when the Panthers were battling through injures - including missing captain Aleksander Barkov for an extended period of time - Hornqvist, Lomberg and Luostarinen combined for 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists) over 22 games back in November.
"They were relied on a lot," Brunette said of the trio. "They brought it at both ends of the ice. They were our best line for that month when we were banged up and kind of going through some things. They were kind of a gel line for our team. Seeing them back on the ice was fun."
With the playoff push about to heat up, Hornqvist will only become even more valuable.
As a veteran of 96 playoff games and a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Penguins (2016, 2017), he knows better than most what it takes to make a deep run in the postseason.
For even though the Panthers, who won 14 of 18 games before hanging up their skates and kicking up their feet for a well-deserved break, sit at 32-10-5 and only trail the Avalanche (33-8-4) by just one point for first place in the NHL standings, there's still plenty of hockey left to play.
So what's the secret to a strong second half?
"Just try to get better every day," Hornqvist said. "I think that's the key. Don't think we're in a good spot because we're up in the standings. There are 30 teams that are chasing us, so you can't feel good about yourself. You always have to come to the rink and try to get better and try to do the right things over and over."
