Barkov's Mailbag: A Fun Playoff Race; Sorry, Fortnite

Throughout the entire 2017-18 season, Florida Panthers star center Aleksander "Sasha" Barkov will be answering all of your questions about life on and off the ice in his monthly mailbag for FloridaPanthers.com.
Have a question you want answered? Tweet them using #BarkysBag!

Robert S., Davie: How excited are you for this playoff race right now?
BARKOV: It's the best time of the year right now. Every game matters and you're just trying to help your team win and get in. We've been on a good run lately, so there's no better feeling than going to the rink and battling as hard as you can with these guys. It's tough to compare this run to when we made the playoffs two years ago. I don't really remember how that felt. All I know is that when you win it's fun, and that's what we've been doing lately. We're going to continue to do that because we're still a couple points away from the playoffs and we have a couple games left. We just need to play the same way we've been playing and keep getting better.
@eyezofnight: Have you seen any footage of Henrik Borgstrom? What do you think of his skills?
BARKOV: I've only seen maybe one or two games, but I've seen a lot of his highlight-reel goals. He can pass, he can dangle. Of course, when you see that, you know he can create offense with those move and the skillset that he has. He's a lot of fun to watch and I'm looking forward to seeing him on this team.

@MisterBauer3: Have you been playing Fortnite?
BARKOV:I don't play Fortnite and I'm not going to download it. I think everybody plays that game, but I'm not going to play that game. I play Call of Duty, FIFA and I just started playing NBA 2K.
@GhosteFace: Have you tried the mini rink at Aaron Ekblad's house?
BARKOV: I actually have something similar at my house. It's a couple tiles that I can use to shoot a little bit. I can also skate on it, but it's not big enough to skate around. I can stand there and make little moves. I like it a lot. It's in my garage, so I use it pretty much every time I come home if I have nothing to do. I'll just go there, take the stick, stickhandle and shoot some pucks. I probably use it once a day.
@BluLiner55: If you have your choice between any chicken wings, what would you pick?
BARKOV: I like the traditional Buffalo. My favorite place to get wings on the road? Also, Buffalo.
Sammie P., Sunrise: How do you typically spend your days off?
BARKOV:We play so much that sometimes it's best just to rest. If I'm at home, I'll probably just play video games, relax, go outside, walk a little bit and go to the mall. The Boca Mall is a pretty good place to go and so is Mizner Park. There's a lot of good places here. I love this city. But if we're on the road, I usually wake up, get breakfast, wait for lunch and then wait for dinner.
@Thortys_Shorty: How do you like playing with Nick Bjugstad?
BARKOV: It doesn't matter, for me, who I play with. I've played with Huby [Jonathan Huberdeau] and a couple different guys before this. But now it's Daddy [Evgenii Dadonov] and Bjugy [Bjugstad] and, of course, they're awesome players. We've found chemistry pretty quick. Of course, when you find that chemistry it makes it so much more fun to play. But we know that we can be a lot better and we can play more in the offensive zone. They're great guys and great players, so it's a lot of fun to play with them.

@PTPJacob: Do you prefer ice baths or the cryo chamber?
BARKOV: I just do cold showers. The cold tub and the cryo machine are too cold!
@fakejedega: What music do you listen to in order to get pumped up?
BARKOV: I like pop and R&B more than rap. I listen to everything, so it doesn't really matter to me. If I had to pick a few artists, I'd say Pitbull and Kygo. I want to meet Pitbull.
Chase R., Boca Raton: What kind of flex do you use?
BARKOV: I use a Bauer stick with a 102 flex.
@Hawk954: Have you ever been to the theme parks in Orlando before?
BARKOV:No, I've never been. I'm probably too old for that. We have one in my hometown in Finland that was right almost across the street from me. I went a lot of times when I was younger.
@PTPJacob: How much are you looking forward to playing in Finland next season?
BARKOV:I'm very excited. It's going to probably be one of the best moments of my career to play an NHL game in Finland, my home country. I never even dreamed about that, but next year it will happen. My whole family will probably be at the game. It's a little bit early now, but I'll probably have to get a lot of tickets. We'll see.

@willipr527: Would it be easier to teach Nick Bjugstad Russian or Finnish?
BARKOV:It'll be easier to just stick with English.