Sam Reinhart reaches a new place in Panthers history

Sam Reinhart called passing Jonathan Huberdeau "pretty special" this morning after his empty-net goal in Columbus.

The Tuesday night goal was his 199th as a Panther, per George Richards and David Dwork, and it moved him into second on the franchise goals list. We told you about Sam Reinhart's move up the Panthers' all-time list Tuesday night. Now the record is his.

Jameson Olive relayed Reinhart's reaction, and the center made sure to give Cap his due: he's still behind him in every other category.

His teammates weren't shy about it. Sam Bennett, who scored twice in the win, said Reinhart has "done nothing but score big goals for this franchise" and means a lot to the organization.

Paul Maurice went past the goals. The coach said Reinhart is "one of the leaders now for sure" and that everything he says on the bench is "gold."

That's the part that stands out. A scorer gets credit for the puck going in, but a coach rarely talks about what comes out of a player's mouth between shifts.

Reinhart has 10 goals and 18 points in 19 games this season, and he's up to 333 career goals.

He's also tied at 10 goals with Brady Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe on the team, which says plenty about how evenly the Panthers' scoring is spread.

Why this milestone matters more than Reinhart lets on

Passing Huberdeau is a bigger deal than he's making it. Six of his 10 goals this season have come on the power play, and the Panthers, 10-7-2 and fifth in the Atlantic Division, just ended a two-game skid.

Bennett's night helped too. His only power-play goal of the season came Tuesday, part of Sam Bennett flipping the switch for Florida after a slow start.

Next up is Thursday, Nov 12, when the Red Wings visit, a team that has lost four straight. Reinhart sits at 698 career points, two shy of 700.

This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.