Alex Barkov Is The Best Player In The Tampa Bay-Panthers Series And People Need To Know His Name

Last night's Lightning-Panthers game was absolutely ELECTRIC. It was fast, high-scoring, violent, and everything you want out of a playoff hockey game. It was probably the type of game the NHL prayed for when they put two teams in Florida 25+ years ago and it is just now happening for the first time. The other thing this series will turn into is Sasha Barkov's coming out party. I said that tweet last night early in the game as I was watching him dominate in all three zones on every single shift. I think he is probably the 3rd best center in the entire league behind McDavid and MacKinnon. He is a complete player. A stud. A guy who does everything in hockey at an elite level. Nobody seems to realize that because he plays for the Panthers and this year when he really elevated his game to an even higher level everyone was just focused on their own division because of the way the league did covid-19 scheduling. The haters were in my mentions

Kucherov is great. Hedman is outstanding. If you were going to take Hedman over Barkov I wouldn't argue with you too hard, but Barkov does everything. Selke level defense. Great playmaking. Good shot. Strong as a fucking ox. He is a truly ELITE player who changes the game every single time he steps on the ice regardless of the situation. He absolutely SMOKED the Lightning 5 on 5 last night. Look at this stat

That is ABSURD. He steps on the ice and it is his. Nobody else's. Barkov wins the draw. Then if a teammate coughs it up somehow he goes and gets it back and inevitably something good happens for the Panthers. There is nobody exactly like him in the game right now. He's like a bigger and stronger version of Datsyuk. I need people to appreciate him. He is doing it without a ton of support either. His most frequent wingers are Verhaege and Anthony Duclair. Nice players who have worked hard to become every day NHLers. Having said that…nobody is going to confuse them with Draisaitl or Rantanen. And yet, it doesn't matter. You put those two guys or like any two guys with Barkov and he will no doubt make them better. That is exactly what is happening this year. He carried the Panthers to the playoffs. I don't know if Florida has enough to beat Tampa and make a real run yet, but with Joel as the coach, Barkov as their franchise player, no state income tax, and more visibility I hope the Panthers are able to recruit some guys to come play with one of the very best guys in the league. Appreciate Barkov. That's all I ask