The National Hockey League is loaded with great players. There is more talent in this league than there has ever been. Everyone has a particular set of skills and they help their teams in different ways.
When you think about the best players right now, guys like Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, Nikita Kucherov, and Cale Makar come to mind. Even some of the veterans like Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, and Patrick Kane are still at the top of their game right now.
There are a few "underrated" players in the league that always deserve their props as well. Over the weekend, two players stood out as first-time 50-goal scorers and they should be celebrated.
Those two players are Zach Hyman of the Edmonton Oilers and Sam Reinhart of the Florida Panthers. Both of them are surrounded by incredible teammates who helped them reach that 50-goal plateau for the first time.
Zach Hyman and Sam Reinhart are both having magnificent seasons
For Hyman, he just hangs out in front of the net and takes advantage of centers like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl making plays around him. He is elite at cleaning up the garbage at the net mouth. 15 of his 50 goals were scored on the power play as well so he is effective with the man advantage.
As for Reinhart, he makes big plays on Florida's top line along with being one of the best scorers in the league on special teams. He leads the NHL with 27 power-play goals and five short-handed goals.
The diversity that both of them bring to their lineups helps them score so many goals. Florida and Edmonton are two of the best teams in the NHL and these two play huge roles in that. Neither of them is an elite playmaker but they both know how to find the back of the net almost daily.
A 10-game Sunday saw Zach Hyman and Sam Reinhart become the first pair of players to reach the 50-goal plateau on the same day since April 4, 2001, when Jaromir Jagr and Joe Sakic both did so.#NHLStats: https://t.co/cHgoFiF1SJ pic.twitter.com/wQzLMV8Fe1
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 25, 2024
Reinhard and Hyman reaching the milestone on the same day was cool to see. It is the first time that two NHL players reached that goal-scoring number on the same day since Joe Sakic and Jaromir Jagr did it on April 4th, 2001.
Reaching the 50-goal plateau is becoming a tad bit more common in this era but it is still something only a handful of players have accomplished.
In the last decade, only Alexander Ovechkin, Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, David Pastrnak, Mikko Rantanen, Leon Draisaitl, Chris Kreider, and Brayden Point had reached 50 at any point.
Every 50 goal scorer in the last decade:
— Big Head Hockey (@BigHeadHcky) March 25, 2024
— Alex Ovechkin
— Connor McDavid
— Auston Matthews
— David Pastrnak
— Mikko Rantanen
— Leon Draisaitl
— Chris Kreider
— Brayden Point
And now, Zach Hyman and Sam Reinhart. pic.twitter.com/rLRgP13UU2
Matthews currently has 58 to lead the NHL. Nathan MacKinnon and David Pastrnak each have 44 so there is a good chance they reach the milestone of 50 as well. Artemi Panarin has 43 while both Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point each have 41.
Those three would need a big run of goals to reach 50 in the final few weeks. If all of these guys did it, Kucherov, Panarin, and MacKinnon would be doing it for the first time.
Reinhart and Hyman should be proud of the fact that they already did it. Now, it is time to see them take their games into the postseason to try and go on a run. Florida vs Edmonton would certainly make for an interesting Stanley Cup Final.