Q&A: Verhaeghe talks 30 goals, playoff push & more!
Leading the Florida Panthers in goals this season, the slick sniper hit the 30-goal mark for the first time in his young career when he beat goaltender John Gibson on a breakaway in overtime to lift the Panthers to a 4-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks at FLA Live Arena on Monday.
Since the start of 2021-22, Verhaeghe ranks tied for 11th in the NHL in even-strength goals (48).
"If it's on his stick, we want that shot," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of Verhaeghe's breakout. "He's going to score a whole lot of goals. There are guys who score 20 or 30 and you think, 'Oh, they got lucky. That's not happening again.' I think it's the opposite for Carter."
Following Wednesday's practice at FLA Live Arena, I had a chance to sit down with Verhaeghe to talk about joining the 30-goal club, his new linemates, the playoff push and much more.
OLIVE: I know it's been a few days since your game-winning goal against the Ducks, but does the high from scoring an overtime goal like that linger a little bit?
VERHAEGHE: Yeah, a little bit. I think it's more from just winning the game. But those are by far the most exciting goals to score. When you score and the game just ends, that's awesome.
OLIVE: When you were on that breakaway, what was going through your head?
VERHAEGHE: For me, I think it's just kind of intuition. I thought I was going to shoot it glove-side, but then I just kind of blacked out and did something else. I think it's just kind of reacting. You've done it so many times, so it just kind of comes naturally. I think that's what happened. I wasn't planning on doing that. I really didn't know what I was going to do until I was doing it.
OLIVE: What does it mean to join the 30-goal club for the first time in your career?
VERHAEGHE: I hadn't really thought about it before it happened. I just go out there and try and do my best and try and score goals and make plays and win games. Sometimes it just happens. I've worked hard to get to the position where I'm at right now, so it's a cool accomplishment.
OLIVE: At the start of the season, did you have a feeling you were going to put up numbers like this?
VERHAEGHE:Not really. I mean, I always believe in myself and know that I have another gear. The more I play, the more I can get better. That's been pretty much my whole career. I'm just trying to learn and find new ways to score. I want to be a better player ever day.
OLIVE: Looking at your career numbers, you're shooting percentage has impressively hovered around 15% every season that you've played. With that sort of consistency when it comes to your finishing, was the recipe for scoring more goals always as simple as just shooting more?
VERHAEGHE:A little bit, I think. I think you can also take bad shots though. I've played with Barky half the year, and now Chucky. All my linemates have been so good and they're finding me in great spots. They make it easy. You've just got to shoot the puck. I'm lucky to play with them.
OLIVE: After spending so much of your time with the Panthers playing alongside Aleksander Barkov, what's it been like to switch things up this season and play with Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk? It's two more great players, but I'm sure it's a little different.
VERHAEGHE:Yeah, it's a little different. They're obviously great players and make a ton of plays. We have good chemistry out there. But it's fun getting to watch Barky when he's on the ice now. I went from playing with him to having a front-row seat to seeing how good he is. Sometimes when you're on the ice, you don't really realize it. Now that I'm watching him on the bench, I'm like, 'Wow! He's pretty good.' [Laughs]
OLIVE: When it comes to playing with Tkachuk, how much more do you try to just put pucks on net knowing he's usually always set up right around the crease looking for tips and rebounds?
VERHAEGHE: Yeah, that's big. But it's also the coaches coming in here and telling me they want me to be a shooter and just have that mindset all the time. I have a purpose going out on the ice. I think there were times in my career where I didn't go into a game with a purpose to do something. Now it feels like I'm going in with the purpose to focus on the things that I do well. I want to make those things a staple of my game. They've made me realize that.
OLIVE: As you continue to climb the NHL's goal-scoring leaderboard, it seems like your name is starting to pop up more and more in conversations about the most underrated players in the NHL. What's it like to start getting that kind of recognition?
VERHAEGHE: I think there's a lot of underrated players. Not all teams get the same amount of attention as every other team in the NHL, so that might have something to do with it. All markets are different when it comes to media and stuff. It's kind of nice to be under the radar.
OLIVE: With that said, you're definitely not flying under the radar in South Florida anymore. How does it feel to be a fan favorite and see so many No. 23 jerseys at FLA Live Arena these days?
VERHAEGHE:It's great. We have great fans down here. They really support us. You want to talk about underrated? I think the fans here are really underrated. We have one of the biggest barns in the NHL, and they pack it pretty much every night. They're passionate and they're always supporting us no matter what. It's awesome.
OLIVE: Looking ahead, you'll be playing a lot of games in front of those fans in the coming weeks. How much is the team looking forward to continuing this playoff push on home ice?
VERHAEGHE:It's huge. Being at home is awesome. We haven't had much of this all year. We've got to take advantage of it. We can't get complacent. It's just going into every game trying to win every game. It's like the playoffs for us right now. We know we're fighting for a spot. Every game is so important. We've got to approach every game like that. That's our mentality.
