Florida Panthers surge to Atlantic Division lead with sixth straight win
The streaking Florida Panthers took over first place in the Atlantic Division on Sunday night with a 3-2 home win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Florida has won six straight games and has 44 points in 36 games – ahead of the Montreal Canadiens with 43 points in 37 games and Detroit Red Wings with 43 points in 35 games.
According to George Richards of the Miami Herald, on Thanksgiving the Panthers trailed the Habs by 16 points, the Ottawa Senators by nine points and the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning by five points in the Atlantic. Florida has also won 12 of 15 games played.
Said Panthers coach Gerard Gallant via NHL.com.
"It's almost the new year, and being in first place means a lot," coach Gerard Gallant said in a video posted by the Panthers. "Keep winning, keep getting points; it's a lot of fun playing the way we're playing."
Young center Aleksander Barkov scored two goals in the win over the Blue Jackets. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad scored one goal in 22:55 of action.
Since Barkov returned from a hand injury on Nov. 16, the Panthers are 13-5-1. Barkov has 10 points this month and is a plus-11 in 13 games played in December.
The Panthers are 10-3-0 this month and have a franchise record 20 points in December. The 20 points in December are the most by any team in the NHL. The Washington Capitals are second with 19 points and the Capitals' only regulation loss in December was to the Panthers. Washington leads the Eastern Conference with 54 points.
Said Ekblad via NHL.com
"It's no fluke; for a month and a bit now we've been playing really good hockey," he said. "We're really learning to carry that momentum and play good defensive hockey, which leads to great offensive chances."
Meanwhile some of the Panthers’ rivals continued to struggle. The Boston Bruins lost their third straight game, dropping a 3-1 decision to the Senators. Forward David Krejci exited that game before the start of the third period with an upper body injury. The Canadiens have lost six straight games, and reportedly are looking to make some moves to get out of their slump.
The Panthers host Montreal on Tuesday.
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper