Florida Panthers At World Championships

World Championships kicked off on Friday, where Panther fans were able to get their first look at Sasha Barkov back in action after rehabbing from his ACL/MCL surgeries. All positive things to take away from the first Finland game, where they won 3-1 over Germany. Barkov looked sharp, playing a total of 18:01 minutes and recording an assist on Finland’s opening goal. He also created the play that allowed for the Finns second goal. He won the faceoff and then went straight to the net to get in the eyes of Grubauer, which allowed Puljujarvi to score. Barkov’s faceoff talent hasn’t gone anywhere as he went 8/11 in the circle for a 72.7 FO%. In the match against Hungary, Sasha recorded an assist on Puljujarvi’s goal to give Finland a 2-0 lead heading into the third period. Barkov was still doing Barkov things in the way he moves around opponents and stick handles. His shot on goal created the rebound that Puljujarvi picked up for the goal. Sasha picked up another primary assist in the third on a power play goal by Jesse Puljujarvi en route to Finland’s 4-1 win. 

Lundell had a very strong game 1, where he put up a goal and an assist in 15:58 TOI. He scored Finland’s opening goal with the secondary assist from Barkov. It was a great way to start the tournament after the Panthers had such a rough year. The Cats certainly missed him in the final month of the season. Anton had the secondary assist on the Puljujarvi goal in the third period that gave Finland a 2-0 lead. There’s been quite a bit of growth in Lundell’s game this year, and he’s being trusted as the Finn’s second-line center. He had a quieter game 2 against Hungary, but still played a solid match. 

Matthew Tkachuk hasn’t made his debut with Team USA yet.