Seth Jones is running the Panthers from the back end
Nine points in four games and 25 and a half minutes a night: with Barkov on injured reserve, Jones has become Florida's engine.
Seth Jones is the best player on the Panthers right now, and I don't say that lightly on a team with two Tkachuks and a historic week of hat tricks. The hat tricks get the highlights. Jones is a big reason the puck keeps finding the guys scoring them.
Here's the number. Jones had one point in Florida's first five games. He has nine in the four since, by our count from NHL data. That's 10 points in nine games, tied for third among NHL defensemen behind Evan Bouchard and Quinn Hughes.
The run started in Columbus, where he had four assists in the 7-3 win and tied a franchise record. He added two more against Vancouver and one in the 8-3 win over Seattle. That's a four-game point streak.
The minutes tell you everything
Paul Maurice trusts him with practically the entire game. Jones is averaging 25.5 minutes a night, per NHL data. The next Panthers defenseman, Gustav Forsling, is at 21.4. Jones played 29 minutes in the opener in Raleigh and hasn't been below 22 since.
His ice time dropped four minutes on Saturday, down to 22.3. Don't read anything into it: when you're up five goals on Seattle, the coach sends the workhorse to the barn early.
Maurice pointed to the summer. "He had a great summer of training with Aaron Ekblad," he said, adding that Jones "has got a little more confidence." Jones kept it simple: "I'm making some plays to some great players, and they're putting the puck in the net."
Why it matters more right now
Lineup watch: Barkov is on injured reserve, so the offense has to start somewhere else, and with the captain out it's starting on the back end.
As a guy who plays, the thing I notice is how little the forwards have to come back for the puck. When your D-man moves it first pass with his head up, your wingers get to leave early. That's how you score eight on a Saturday night in Sunrise without your best center.
I've been watching this team since the first season. I've seen plenty of defensemen who could eat minutes. Not many who could eat 25 a night and run the offense from the point at the same time.
The caution is the sample size. Nine games is nine games, and a four-game heater can cool off considerably by Halloween. But the minutes aren't a heater. Maurice has been riding him since opening night.
Pabs' read: Jones is the reason this team can survive Barkov's absence. My call: he's still top five among NHL defensemen in points when November ends. The cats see Ottawa on Wednesday. Dale.
