NOTEBOOK: Update on Verhaeghe; Montour ‘getting loose’

FORT LAUDERDALE -- The Cats are rolling.

With their 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday at Amerant Bank Arena, the Florida Panthers improved to 39-16-4 and reclaimed the top spot in the Eastern Conference over the Boston Bruins.

But with 23 games left to play in the regular season, players aren’t resting on their laurels.

“Every game is hard at this point of the season,” forward Anton Lundell said after Wednesday’s practice at the Baptist Health IcePlex. “Winning tight games is important, so overall it was a great win for the team.”

Owning an 8-2-0 record over their last 10 games, the surging Panthers currently sit atop the leaderboard in the NHL for wins (39), winning percentage (.695) and goal differential (+52).

One of the reasons for this recent success has been a hot stretch for Brandon Montour.

Looking at the last five games, the mobile defenseman leads the Cats in points (10), assists (7), and power-play points (5), while sitting tied with Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk for first in goals (3).

But even with that spike in production, teammates haven’t seen any changes.

In reality, he’s just reaping the rewards of his strong play all season.

“He’s playing the same game. He’s been playing good all year,” said Montour’s D-partner Niko Mikkola. “It’s good to see him scoring goals and getting loose.”

In that same five-game stretch, Montour has registered four multi-point performances, including three-point efforts in big wins over the Tampa Bay Lightning (Feb. 17) and Buffalo Sabres (Feb. 27).

“I think we’re moving the puck, getting the confidence a little bit more,” said Montour, who netted what held up as the game-winning goal on the power play in the third period of Tuesday’s win over Buffalo. “Any time you can contribute offensively, especially with my game, it’s nice. It’s nice to collect these wins and play big games. Still working towards playing my best hockey come April.”

In a groove, Montour will look to stay hot on Thursday when the Panthers close the book on their three-game homestand with a divisional matchup against the Montreal Canadiens at 7 p.m. ET.

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GOALIES KICKING

There might not be a bigger confidence booster for a team than when a goalie is in the zone.

Luckily for the Panthers, they’ve got two.

In his last five games, Anthony Stolarz, who’s one game shy of his 100th in the NHL, has posted a 4-1 record on top of an outstanding .951 save percentage and 1.39 goals-against average.

“They’ve been unreal,” Mikkola said of the team’s dynamic duo between the pipes. “It’s easy to play D for them. If you make a mistake, you know they are going to be there to back you up.”

After stopping 28 of 30 shots in Florida’s 3-2 win over the Sabres on Tuesday, Sergei Bobrovsky extended his streak of allowing two or fewer goals to a franchise-record nine straight contests.

In that span, Bobrovsky has gone 8-1-0 with a .945 save percentage and 1.65 goals-against average.

“We try to help him as much as we can, but we know he’s there and we want to keep his job as easy as possible,” Lundell said of Bobrovsky, who ranks third in the NHL with 29 wins this season. “We want him to play like this, so we are going to do everything we can to keep him playing like this.”

Per MoneyPuck.com, Bobrovsky and Stolarz have saved a combined 24.9 goals above expected.

VERHAEGHE UPDATE

After taking a puck up high and exiting Tuesday’s night game in the third period, forward Carter Verhaeghe was a full participant during Wednesday's practice in Fort Lauderdale.

Fortunate to avoid anything serious, Verhaeghe has been elite for the Cats this season.

On the season, No. 23 has been producing at better than a point-per-game pace, ranking third on the team with 61 points (30 goals, 31 assists) in 59 games while boasting a +19 plus/minus rating.

Consistent as well as clutch, Verhaeghe has cracked the scoresheet in 12 of his last 15 games.