Lundell, Verhaeghe & Boqvist: ‘They draw some things out of each other’

Some things just complement each other.

For the Florida Panthers, it’s been the line of Anton Lundell, Carter Verhaeghe and Jesper Boqvist.

“They draw something out of each other,” said head coach Paul Maurice after Tuesday's 2-1 shootout win over the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center.

Mixing up all four lines prior to Tuesday’s tilt, the line of 23-15-70 found themselves reunited in the second period with the game still scoreless.

“Bo (Boqvist) has a little bit of bit to his game and he’s on the pocket,” said Maurice. “Lundy (Lundell) can kind of play both sides of it, and Carter’s speed and we know what he’s capable of offensively. I think the players around them make them better, and make them true to who they are.”

The move paid off.

Giving the Panthers an offensive jump and on the board, Boqvist ripped a shot by New Jersey’s Jacob Markstrom on a feed from Verhaeghe to make it 1-0 early in the third period.

Finding a groove with his new teammates, Boqvist has points in seven of his last 11 games.

In that span, the Swedish forward has logged nine points (six goals, three assists) and 29 hits.

“I think we try to work hard, and those two guys have a lot of skill on them too,” said Boqvist on playing with Lundell and Verhaeghe. “It’s been good. We try to stay with it and work hard.”

Shift by shift, the hard work of the line has been seen on the ice.

Per Natural Stat Trick, the speedy and skilled third line has registered a 52.38% offensive advantage, scored five goals and generated 41 scoring chances over the last eight games.

Centering the line, Lundell has tallied five points (goal, four assists) in the last eight games.

“It’s been good,” said Lundell on playing with the new line. “I really like to play with them.”

The two Scandinavian forwards have played a fair amount together this season, but adding Verhaeghe to the line brings another element.

With four points (goal, three assists) in the last six games, the man they call “Swaggy” can turn it on at any point.

“I’ve been playing with Jesper (Boqvist) a little bit more this season, but getting Carter (Verhaeghe) there has been very good,” said Lundell. “He can score 40 goals and has been very good the last few seasons, so it’s been fun.”

Trying to stay hot, this new-look line will try to keep pililng up the points when the Panthers host the Detroit Red Wings at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.

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