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NICK BJUGSTAD: Poised to be First Rookie to Lead Florida Panthers In Scoring

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Coach Peter Horachek says he doesn't really care that the Panthers could set an NHL record for having the fewest points lead a team in scoring.

Nick Bjugstad is Florida's current leader with 38 points -- one away from tying the mark of 39 set by Minnesota's Scott Pellerin in 2000-01.

Scottie Upshall (37 points), Brad Boyes (36) and Brian Campbell (36) could have big games Saturday and hit 40 points as well.

"The bad thing is we're not in the playoffs,'' Horachek said. "I really don't care about the rest of it, that our leading scorer has 38 points. I do care that we're not in the playoffs. I care about the dynamic of the team. We should surround Bjugstad with players scoring twice as many points as him. We need to help him become a better player.''

If Bjugstad does lead the Panthers in scoring, he would be the first rookie to do so in the franchise's 19 seasons.

"You don't worry about that right now,'' he said after recording three points Thursday. "When you look back on it, yeah, it would be pretty cool. But you have to play it out. We have one more game and see what we can do.''

 

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