“It means the world to me, to be honest,” Barkov said. “It’s Athlete of the Year in Finland, the country where I was born, where I was raised and grew up watching national teams play and cheering for them. To get that honor, it’s huge for me. I’m really, really happy and really thankful to be able to get that award.”

Putting a cherry on top of an incredible year, Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov took home “Athlete of the Year” honors at the Finnish Sports Gala in Helsinki on Thursday. Given out annually since 1947, Barkov is the first hockey player to ever win the prestigious award.

On Thursday, Barkov became the first hockey player to be named Finland’s Sportsman of the Year. The award is voted on annually by the Finnish Sports Journalists’ Association and has been given out since 1947.

Lucas Raymond leads Detroit in scoring with 47 points (18 goals, 29 assists), while Dylan Larkin sits in second with 38 points (18 goals, 20 assists). In addition to ranking third on the team in points (36), Alex DeBrincat paces the team with 19 goals, including eight on the power play.

Each of the Panthers’ past seven games has either been decided by one goal or was a one-goal game until the winning team scored on an empty net.

BOTTOM LINE: The Florida Panthers take on the Anaheim Ducks in a non-conference matchup. Florida is 26-17-3 overall and 12-9-2 at home. The Panthers have allowed 142 goals while scoring 146 for a +4 scoring differential.

Noah Cates scored the game-winner with less than 6 minutes remaining as he chipped the puck past Florida’s Aleksander Barkov. The puck flew in the air and Cates knocked it down with his glove and then streaked and scored over flailing Panthers goalie ...

Special teams success was the key to victory for the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night. The Red Wings dominated on the power play, scoring three times on just four shots to take down the Florida Panthers 5-2 at Amerant Bank Arena.

Anton Lundell scored the shootout winner and Spencer Knight made 26 saves as the Florida Panthers downed the New Jersey Devils 2-1.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jesper Boqvist scored twice in the third period and the Florida Panthers beat the Utah Hockey Club 4-1 on Wednesday night. Sam Reinhart and Eetu Luostarinen each had a goal for the reigning Stanley Cup champions. Matthew Tkachuk finished with two assists, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves.

The Ducks, who had been goal-starved on this trek before scoring three in a shootout loss to Tampa Bay on Thursday, face Florida twice in a row in a home-and-home set that begins Saturday.

The Panthers are a much better team than the Red Wings, and seeing them claw one out in New Jersey on Tuesday night was very encouraging. The Panthers have absolutely owned the Red Wings in recent series history, winning nine out of the last 10 meetings dating back to 2022.