Carter Verhaeghe got the loudest praise yet from Paul Maurice after the Panthers beat Chicago 5-3 on Wednesday night.
The Florida coach didn't hold back. He called it "just incredible consistency" and said the game Verhaeghe played is one "he's played almost all year."
The Panthers posted Maurice's full answer, including his point that Verhaeghe is "not just a shooter by any means."
Start with the season line. Verhaeghe has 9 goals and 6 assists for 15 points in 16 games. Five of those goals came on the power play and two were game-winners.
Wednesday fit the pattern. He scored a power-play goal, the 9th of his season, with Brady Tkachuk and Matthew Tkachuk's four-assist night in Winnipeg still fresh, picking up the assists. He added a helper, finished with 4 shots and played 17:16.
Jameson Olive had the goal as it happened, putting the Panthers up 2-0.
The assist is the part Maurice wanted to talk about. Verhaeghe battled on the puck to set up Sandis Vilmanis' second goal, according to the coach. Vilmanis finished the night with 2 goals and 2 assists.
Verhaeghe is quietly driving the Panthers' climb
Olive wrote that not enough people around the NHL are talking about how good Verhaeghe has looked this season. He has a point.
Florida is 9-5-2 and 7-3-0 over its last 10, fifth in the Atlantic. Verhaeghe is a plus-6 on a team with a goal differential of just +5, so he's been on the ice for plenty of the good stuff. Teammates like Sam Reinhart's hot streak have grabbed headlines, but this one has been steadier.
His career line sits at 504 games, 181 goals, 191 assists and 372 points. Maurice says this is the most consistent version of him the Panthers have had.
The next test is Saturday at Washington. The Capitals are 8-6-0 and have lost two straight, and Spencer Carbery's team will have to find a way to slow down a line that keeps showing up.
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