Aleksander Barkov’s performance level is not at a sufficient level, writes Iltalehti sports editor Otto Leinonen.
Aleksander Barkov hasn’t gotten the best out of himself. AOP / USA TODAY SPORTS
The Florida Panthers are in a tight spot.
The badly damaged Boston Bruins lead the playoff series between the teams with match wins 3–1.
The Panthers made it to the playoffs thanks to a strong Kir, but now it is already threatened by the end of the season.
Team captain Aleksander Barkov has played below expectations so far.
The Finnish center played an effective regular season in terms of power points, as Barkov produced 23+55=78 power points in 68 regular season games.
The same trend has not continued against the Bruins.
After four playoff matches, Barkov has only two assist points.
The number of points is alarmingly low, considering that the Bruins have been missing first center Patrice Bergeron and second center David Krejčí from the lineup.
The Bruins have played with weaker centers, but Barkov still hasn’t gotten anywhere near his best.
The inadequacy of Barkov’s level can be seen, among other things, from the statistics.
When Barkov is on the ice, Boston has created 11 A-class goal chances with even fives The Natural Stat Trick by. That’s tied with Eric Staal for the most among Panthers forwards. The Panthers have created only eight high-quality goal chances while the Finn was on the ice.
Barkov’s goal expectation ratio is a little over 46 percent Evolving-Hockey by. The number is the fourth-fewest among Panthers forwards who have played at least 20 minutes in the playoffs.
When you compare it to, say, Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe, the difference is huge. Verhaegehe’s goal expectation ratio is over 66 percent, while Tkachuk’s is over 63.
In other words, when Barkov has been on the ice, the Bruins have controlled game events, been able to shift the focus of the game to Florida’s end and create quality scoring chances. When Tkachuk and Verhaeghe have been in the rink, the opposite has happened.
Barkov hasn’t played at the level required for a number one center and his level has dropped since the end of the regular season, although he hasn’t even faced a center of Bergeron’s caliber yet.
Florida has created an average of 2.41 shots per 60 minutes against the Bruins when Barkov is on the court. That’s the fourth-lowest among Florida forwards.
Barkov should lead the Panthers from the front, but the level of play seen now is just not enough.