Sam Reinhart joins Pavel Bure as only Florida Panthers players to score 50 goals in a season

Sam Reinhart on Sunday hit the latest milestone of his breakout 2023-24 season with the Florida Panthers — and it’s a big one.

With two goals in a 4-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center, Reinhart now has 50 goals on the season, becoming just the second player in Panthers history to score 50 goals in a season. He joins Pavel Bure, who hit the mark twice as a Panther with 58 goals in 1999-2000 season and then 59 in 2000-2001 season.

“It’s pretty cool,” Reinhart said of the milestone in a postgame interview on Bally Sports Florida. “That’s obviously a number I’ve never really thought about. [I’m] certainly the recipient of being put in some very good positions this year, playing with some really good players, so it’s been fun.”

The Panthers have 11 games left in the regular season, giving Reinhart a chance to set the franchise record if he can average about a goal per game the rest of the way.

His 50th goal came on an empty-netter with 1:12 left in regulation to seal Florida’s win, which snapped a four-game losing streak. Reinhart opened scoring in the first period on a wrist shot from the slot on a rush into the offensive zone with center Anton Lundell and defenseman Brandon Montour.

He is the third player in the NHL this season to hit the 50-goal mark. Toronto’s Auston Matthews leads the league with 58 goals scored. Edmonton’s Zach Hyman also scored his 50th goal on Sunday.

Overall, Reinhart is the 100th player in NHL history to have a 50-goal season.

“That puts you in an elite class,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said.

Reinhart already this season has set the Panthers franchise record for power-play goals in a season (27, seven shy of matching the NHL record) and special-teams goals (32). His five shorthanded goals are one shy of matching the franchise record of six set by Tom Fitzgerald in the 1995-96 season.

The 28-year-old forward, who is slated to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, also leads Florida with 83 points (a career-high), 11 multi-goal games (second in the NHL) and nine game-winning goals (tied for fourth in the NHL).

And now, he has 50 goals.

“Obviously the season he’s had, it was a no-brainer that it was going to come,” Montour said. “It’s just one of those things that you just build off the season you’ve had. He’s scored in any which way this year. Empty net or not, it’s 50 forever.”

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