Reinhart hat trick helps Panthers defeat Flyers

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Jonathan Huberdeau had four assists to break his Florida Panthers single-season record during a 6-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at FLA Live Arena on Thursday.

Huberdeau leads the NHL with 82 points and 64 assists, two more assists than he had in 2018-19.
"Obviously it's been a good year," the forward said. "I know we're getting points. Everybody is getting points on our team. We have a lot of depth. It's been a fun year. Obviously we're scoring a lot of goals. And I was just happy to get two points. Franchise record, it doesn't really matter."
Sam Reinhart scored a hat trick for the Panthers (40-13-5), who have won five in a row. Sergei Bobrovsky made 33 saves.
Cam Atkinson scored for the Flyers (18-29-10), who have lost their past 10 road games but played their first since Feb. 15. Carter Hart made 31 saves.
"They have a high-octane game and you have to make it hard on them and not give them anything easy," Philadelphia forward James van Riemsdyk said. "We could have done better."

Anthony Duclair gave Florida 5-3 lead at 6:59 of the third period with his NHL career-high 24th goal. His centering pass deflected off the stick of defenseman Travis Sanheim for his fourth consecutive game with a power-play goal.
Reinhart made it 6-3 at 17:54 with an empty-net goal to complete his hat trick. Huberdeau gave him the puck with the two of them skating alone in the Flyers zone.
"He knows what's going on," Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said of Huberdeau. "He's extremely unselfish. You don't get 65, however many assists he has without being very aware, very perceptive, highly intelligent and unselfish. He demonstrated all those things tonight."
Van Riemsdyk got the Flyers within 4-1 at 9:01 of the second period when he one-timed Kevin Hayes' pass after a turnover behind the Panthers net. Atkinson made it 4-2 at 12:23 when he batted in a rebound, and Travis Konecny made it 4-3 at 18:52 with a power-play goal when he tipped Cam York's shot from the point.
Carter Verhaeghe gave Florida a 1-0 lead at 3:26 when he spun around in the slot and scored with a wrist shot that bounced off the far post.
Reinhart then scored two-power play goals, making it 2-0 at 14:12 when he deflected Huberdeau's wrist shot, and 3-0 at 18:11 when he batted a rebound out of midair. The Panthers were 3-for-3 and are 12-for-25 (48 percent) in their past six games.
"We've been winning some battles, extending some plays," Reinhart said. "We have enough skill out there to just kind of trust our system and simplify it. We've been having success with that."

Verhaeghe made it 4-0 at 19:30 when he finished an end-to-end rush with a wrist shot to the glove side. He has scored 20 goals for the first time in his three NHL seasons.
"Well, I obviously really enjoy it," Brunette said of his players' records and milestones. "And they're doing it in the right way. And they're doing it in a team environment, doing the right things. It's not a year where they're just looking for their own points or not playing a team game. I think they bought in, and for a coach, nothing is more rewarding than seeing them get rewarded for what they've done."
NOTES: Flyers center Scott Laughton left the game in the second period with a head injury after being checked by Petteri Lindbohm and falling into the boards. Philadelphia coach Mike Yeo did not provide an update after the game. ... Florida is 26-6-0 at home and has scored at least five goals in 18 of those games. ... Lindbohm played 12:14 in his first game for the Panthers after the defenseman was signed out of the Kontinental Hockey League on March 1. ... Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad had four assists. ... Panthers center Aleksander Barkov had two assists and has scored 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in the past four games. ... Philadelphia had played eight straight home games.