Sam Reinhart scores 50 goals for first time in NHL career

Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart has become the third NHLer in 2023-24 to score 50 goals in a season, joining Toronto’s Auston Matthews and Edmonton’s Zach Hyman.

Hyman scored his 50th of the season earlier in the evening.

Reinhart is the second Panther to reach 50 in a season, with Pavel Bure scoring 58 in 1999-00 and 59 in 2000-01.

Reinhart, 28, had two goals in a 4-1 win over Philadelphia on Sunday night. Reinhart opened the scoring at 10:34 and then scored again on an empty-netter with just over a minute left to cap off the victory.

Drafted second overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2014, Reinhart had previously never broken past the 40-goal barrier in a season, with his best being a 33-goal, 82-point campaign in 2021-22 – his first with Florida. Reinhart has 50 goals and 82 points in 71 contests this year, including 11 points over the past 10 games.

Reinhart has 248 goals and 526 points in 685 career games over 10 seasons. He also has 11 goals and 17 points in 31 playoff contests, including eight goals and 13 points during the team’s run to the Stanley Cup final last year.

The Panthers have 97 points in 71 games this season, one behind the Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers for first in the league. The team is 5-4-1 over the past 10 games, but will look to hit 100 with a big matchup against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday evening.