TOP BENCH BOSS

Matthew Tkachuk scored twice and Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves as the Panthers defeated the San Jose Sharks at home, 3-1. With the victory, Paul Maurice passed Jacques Martin (110) for the most wins by a coach to that point in Panthers history. “That tells you a lot,” said captain Aleksander Barkov. “He knows how to prepare the team to win games and play the right way, and that’s the most important. He wants us to play the right way, and the wins will come.” “He’s great at getting the best out of each and every player, which is super hard to do as a coach, but he’s seemed to master that,” said Matthew Tkachuk. “That’s an unbelievable skill to have for him. We all love playing for him, and hopefully we can make that record that much bigger.”