Quebecer Jonathan Huberdeau has raised the white flag in the race for the Art-Ross trophy, awarded annually to the top scorer in the National League, he who will not be playing the Florida Panthers Thursday in Ottawa against the Senators.
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Panthers head coach Andrew Brunette confirmed hours before the opening puck drop that his forward – second in league scoring Bettman with 115 points – will be out, along with several other team stars, including Aleksander Barkov and Claude Giroux.
This means that it is against the Montreal Canadiens, Friday at the Bell Center, that Huberdeau will have one last chance to lace up the skates before the playoffs. Falling seven points behind Connor McDavid, who has 12 points in his last four games, the 28-year-old may well have conceded the title to rival Edmonton Oilers.
It will also be very difficult for the other skaters in the league to catch up with McDavid (122 points). Johnny Gaudreau (113) and Leon Draisaitl (109) are third and fourth in scoring, respectively, but they will run out of time, as they had two games left before Thursday night’s duels.