Aleksander Barkov, take a bow.
The Florida Panthers forward scored one of the best goals of this NHL season on Sunday night when he went through his own legs to score on a breakaway against the Montreal Canadiens. This wasn't one of those super clean, nobody-in-the-zip-code breakaways, either. No, this was a heavily contested, high-speed effort that should be appreciated.
During the second period in Florida, Barkov collected the puck in the neutral zone and turned on the jets to narrowly outrace Habs defender Victor Mete to the net. With Mete right on his heels and attempting to stick-check him, Barkov managed to box out the defender, put the puck through his legs and then loft it over Carey Price for the goal.
Please, just watch and enjoy.
Somebody should let Barkov know he's allowed to celebrate a little harder (or, you know, at all) when he scores a goal like that. A goal of that quality deserves a celly far less ... subdued. Not only was it a surefire goal of the year candidate, but it also ultimately served as the game-winner.
The spectacular highlight gave Barkov his second of three goals on a tremendous four-point night against the Canadiens. The Panthers managed to come away with the 6-3 win, which is a big-time result for a Panthers team attempting to climb up the standings for a playoff push in the tough Atlantic division.
