If you’ve watched Florida hockey this season, you’ve undoubtedly heard the name Sam Reinhart. Few things in life are certain, but Sam Reinhart scoring on the power play is one of them. He’s having a career year this season and setting all sorts of franchise records in the process. Reinhart was picked as Florida’s player for the All-Star game, and it’s much deserved; he currently leads the league in power-play goals with 20 and has 62 points in 49 games. Here’s how he compares to his previous seasons and the rest of the league this year.
So far this year, Reinhart has had 37 goals in 49 games, which is a career-high. In ‘22-’23, he scored 31 goals in 82 games, and in ‘21-’22, he scored 33 goals in 78 games. Currently, Reinhart’s production is putting him on pace for a 60+ goal season, and the majority of his goals have come on specialty teams. He’s the second-fastest Panther to reach 30 goals in a season. This year, he has 24 total goals scored on specialty teams, 20 power-play goals, and four short-handed goals, which is the entirety of the Florida short-handed goals scored this season. His effectiveness on the power-play comes with the help of Barkov and Tkachuk. Their quick passing opens up opportunities that he capitalizes on. Fans have seen at least once a game is Barkov passing the puck to Tkachuk, who’s down at the goal line, and then passing to Reinhart, who’s sitting in the slot right in front of the goal. The accuracy of Reinhart’s shooting has made that play nearly an automatic goal; very few have been able to stop it. Reinhart is sitting at a +13 as opposed to last season’s -12, and his shot percentage has increased despite him taking fewer shots. Reinhart is sitting at 27.6 percent in contrast to last year’s 13.7 percent while taking 93 fewer shots at the All-Star break.
How does all this stack up against the rest of the league? Reinhart is second in the league in goals at 37, only three goals behind Austin Matthews from Toronto. With his 20 power-play goals, Reinhart is far and away leading the league; the next closest player is Valeri Nichushkin, who has 13. He is actually tied with Pittsburg and Buffalo’s total power-play goals as a team and has more PP goals than the Chicago and Washington teams in total. Reinhart also leads the league in shooting percentage at 27.6. The next closest amongst the NHL’s top scorers is Brock Boeser from Vancouver with a 22.4. While Reinhart is only three goals behind Matthews, he’s taken 64 fewer shots, averaging about a minute less in ice time, and played three more games. He’s currently tied with Elias Pettersson from Vancouver for most game-winning goals at 9. Overall, Sam Reinhart is one of the best forwards in the league and the best forward on the power play. It’s a career year for him, and his All-Star status is much deserved. You can see him in action this weekend at the All-Star Game along with teammate Sergei Bobrovsky.
