Off the Post: Panthers Battle Back, Fall Short to Flyers on Tuesday
The Philadelphia Flyers kept the Florida Panthers out of the win column in an exciting match-up on Tuesday evening. After taking a 1-0 lead the first period, the Panthers surrendered five second period goals. They headed into the third with a 5-2 deficit. Thanks to two goals in the third period, Florida forced an overtime where they would lose in a shootout.
New Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov finished the night with two goals, along with one in the shootout. Frank Vatrano, acquired by the Panthers this offseason, scored two goals in the first two periods. He had a chance to tie things up in the shootout but couldn’t convert his shot, leading to a 6-5 win for the Flyers. Both Barkov and Vatrano spoke with Russ Cohen after the game.
Aleksander Barkov, Center – Florida Panthers
Barkov was selected by the Panthers with the second overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He became the youngest player since the 1967 NHL expansion to score a goal when he put a puck in the net on October 3rd, 2013 in a road game against Dallas. Barkov finished his rookie season with 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists) in 54 games.
Collectors can find Barkov’s Upper Deck Young Guns Rookie Card in 2013-14 Series One Hockey. Barkov’s rookie season came when Panini held an NHL license. You can find a ton of his rookie cards
and autographs among their 2013-14 hockey catalog of products including Prime, Rookie Anthology, Playbook, Crown Royale and many more!
His 2015-16 season earned him a six-year contract extension with the Panthers. That year, he scored 59 points with 28 goals and 31 assists in 66 games. Last year, he exploded for 78 points (27 goals, 51 assists) in 79 games. Before the start of this season, he was named captain of the team.
Barkov has entrenched himself as a top center in the NHL. Collectors can expect to find his cards among Upper Deck’s entire 2018-19 portfolio. Currently, you can find his cards in 2018-19 MVP, Artifacts, O-Pee-Chee with more to come later this fall and winter.
Frank Vatrano, Center – Florida Panthers
Vatrano was born in Springfield, Massachusetts and played for the Boston Jr. Bruins in 2009-10. After attending the University of Massachusetts – 
Amherst, he forwent his senior season in 2014 and signed an entry-level contract with the Boston Bruins in 2015. For the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons, he played with the Providence Bruins of the AHL.
In 2015, he was called up to Boston where he scored 11 points in 39 games. In his debut game on November 7th, 2015, Vatrano scored his first regular season NHL goal in a 4-2 loss to Montreal. Between Providence and Boston in the 2015-16 season, Vatrano scored 44 goals with 22 assists. He earned the AHL’s Dudley “Red” Garrett Memorial Award (alongside Mikko Rantanen) as the AHL’s outstanding rookie for the 2015-16 season. Collectors can find Vatrano’s Upper Deck Young Guns Rookie Card in 2015-16 Series Two Hockey.
On February 22nd, 2018, Vatrano was traded to the Panthers in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. So far this year, he’s appeared in three games. His two goals on the season came in Tuesday night’s loss. Despite missing his shootout attempt, Vatrano’s performance on Tuesday night was strong. It should solidify his time on the ice for Florida moving forward.
Here is a look at some of Barkov and Vatrano’s cards as they talk about Tuesday’s loss with Russ Cohen. You can listen to the Off the Post podcast HERE.
Off the Post: Panthers Battle Back, Fall Short to Flyers on Tuesday – Image Gallery
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