Huberdeau missed four months, but scored in his first game back, against the Anaheim Ducks on Feb. 3, and finished with 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists) in 31 games.
The 24-year-old leads the Panthers in scoring with 32 points (nine goals, 23 assists) in 30 games this season and is on pace for 86 points (24 goals, 62 assists).
Since his injury, he has 58 points (19 goals, 39 assists) in 61 games.
"Hubie's game's in a good spot," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. "Sometimes I wish he'd shoot more, and we talk about that a lot. He's pretty unselfish and looks to dish a lot, hence the assists. But he's a guy we count on every night for offense."
Here are Five Questions with … Jonathan Huberdeau:
How did you handle the Achilles tendon injury physically and mentally?
"Sometimes you get surgery in the summer, but you're not really around the guys. Nobody's playing, so you don't miss it as much. But when you get hurt in the season, you have to go to the rink, the guys are playing, everybody's having fun, and you have to rehab. I think you work on mental toughness too. For a month, you don't move your leg. You're in a small cast, in a boot. Your muscles on one leg get smaller and weaker. In the morning, I would do, like, three hours of rehab. After that, if we had a game, I would come back at night during the game and get some rehab again. It was twice a day. When everybody was on the road, we tried to mix it up. You're the only one at the rink, so I think you want to try to have fun. A couple beach workouts."
How did you come back so strong, starting with the first game?
"It was weird, because when I came back, I knew I was going to have a good game. It's like when you're a kid and you're so excited to play. When you get away from the game for so long, you're so excited to come back. I didn't know how rusty I would be not playing, but I was confident enough, and it happened that game, I scored a goal. Of course, my legs were a little dead after the first period. I was like, 'Holy [cow], I've got to get going.' But I knew it was not going to be like that all season. I knew the left leg wasn't as strong as the right leg, and I worked on that all summer long. I think it's back to normal, and this year I've felt good."