Among the throngs of South Floridians swept up in the Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup Championship run last season was a little cluster of fans who cheered on the team from their rooms at Joe

Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and two assists, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots for his second shutout of the season, and the Florida Panthers beat the Kings 3-0 on Wednesday night. Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett also scored for the Panthers,

Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice praised San Jose Sharks rookie phenom Macklin Celebrini by comparing him to Aleksander Barkov.

Celebrini has had his share of highlight-reel plays this season as he entered Saturday’s game against Barkov and the Panthers with 35 points in 39 games. Celebrini’s 15 goals before Saturday’s game led all NHL rookies, even as the Sharks have stumbled to last place in the league’s overall standings.

“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.”

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov became the first hockey player to ever win Finland's Sportsman of the Year in a vote by the Finnish Association of Sports Journalists. Barkov, the first Finnish captain to win the Stanley Cup, was named Hockey Player of the Year at the annual Sports Gala on Thursday night.

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.

Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov has made history as the first ice hockey player to be named Finland’s Athlete of the Year. The honour was announced at the Finnish Sports Gala in Helsinki on Thursday,

SAN JOSE – Count Aleksander Barkov as a member of Macklin Celebrini ... winger has several friends affected by L.A. wildfires The Florida Panthers captain and two-time Selke Trophy winner ...

The Florida Panthers captain and two-time Selke ... in a 3-1 Sharks loss to the reigning Stanley Cup champions, Barkov admired how mature the teenager’s game was at that point in his career.

Aleksander Barkov has been selected as the 2024 Sports Personality of the Year, becoming the first ice hockey player to do so. In June last year, Barkov made history as the first Finnish captain to win the Stanley Cup after his Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers in a winner-take-all game seven.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves for his 46th career shutout and second of the season as the Florida Panthers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 on Wednesday in Sunrise, Fla.