Mackie Samoskevich Records First NHL Point in Florida Panthers OT Loss

“It’s something you’d definitely dream of,” Samoskevich said. “More to come, for sure.“

SUNRISE, Fla. — After racking up quality scoring chance after quality scoring chance, Florida Panthers rookie Mackie Samoskevich finally got his first NHL point.

Midway through the first period of Florida’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks, Samoskevich went for a wrap-around attempt, saw that goaltender Kevin Lankinen had covered the post and threw the puck off of a Canucks defender’s skate to find Jesper Boqvist

Boqvist picked up the rebound and squeaked it past Lankinen with 8:07 to go in the period for his first goal as a Panther.

“It felt great, that’s for sure,” Samoskevich said. “It just feels good to have another young guy score it. Or younger, I guess. So, yeah, it’s something you’d definitely dream of. More to come, for sure.“

The 25-year-old Boqvist may want to ask the 21-year-old Samoskevich what “or younger, I guess” means, but the goal came at a crucial time for the Panthers.

Vancouver scored just six seconds earlier that required a lengthy review to determine whether or not Sergei Bobrovsky stopped it in time. After the review, it was determined to be a just a fraction of a second too late to stuff it with his pad.

That goal coming almost immediately after jolted some life back into the building.

It also came at a big moment for Samoskevich, who had been generating scoring chances all season — being tied for third on the team with 10 individual 5-on-5 chances created, per Natural Stat Trick, — but had yet to get on the scoresheet.

Samoskevich was not concerned about that, though.

“I think I’ve been playing well enough to get those chances,” Samoskevich. “That’s the only thing I’m worried about right now, is if I’m getting those chances, it’s a good thing. It’s only a matter of time before they start popping.”

The Panthers were not either, seeing his confidence grow after he made big play after big play.

In the team’s 5-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, Samoskevich made a play that directly led to the goal — bursting up the ice with speed and making the breakout pass that led to the rush — but did not get a point on it after Boqvist, A.J. Greer and Nate Schmidt put on a passing clinic in the offensive zone before Schmidt wired the wrist shot home.

They know he can make plays.

“I’m not particularly worried about his points because I know he is going to get them,” coach Paul Maurice said. “That’s what he does for a living.

“He’s got hands, he can skate, he can make plays. What he’s really doing every shift, every game is gaining experience that will help him on all of the things away from the pucks, because there are so many great shooters right now that aren’t scoring the way people think they should, but they’re still going to end up with 90 points, 100 points, because when they go long stretches without scoring, they need to play a good, solid team game, so those are the things he’s learning right now.”

After spending two short stints with the Panthers last year, Samoskevich looks to be a lot more comfortable with the speed of the NHL game and doing all of those little things to help the team wins.

He scored 22 goals and 54 points in 62 games with AHL Charlotte in between two NHL stints in October and January, which earned him the chance to start the year with the Panthers despite missing training camp with an injury.

“It slowed down for me quite a bit,” Samoskevich said. “Coming back in January was big for me. All that time in the American League helped me learn what I’m good at, and obviously, learning the pro schedule I think is a big thing.

“Getting to a routine is a big part of it and obviously missing camp this year wasn’t ideal, but I thought I’ve done a good job bouncing back after that and I think it’s been good so far.”

He is making reads quicker — as he did when he realized Lankinen hugged the post and made the play to get his first NHL assist — and he looks steady and mature on both ends of the ice.

That quick adjustment comes from the confidence he has always carried with himself and the work he put in during the offseason, joining the Panthers as a Black Ace during their Stanley Cup run before returning to Florida weeks before training camp started to put some extra work in.

“All of the work I’ve been doing down here has helped me along the way,” Samoskevich said. “It’s part of the process. Like, even if I’m younger and in college, it’s the same kind of mindset. Just get better every day and the rest will handle itself.”