The Florida Panthers began their Stanley Cup defense on Tuesday evening against the Boston Bruins and won in convincing fashion. In the process, Aleksander Barkov put himself in exclusive company with the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Jaromir Jagr.

The Panthers captain collected an assist for his 10th consecutive home opener. Via NHL PR:

“Aleksander Barkov collected an assist in his 10th straight home opener for the Panthers. The only other players in NHL history with a stretch of at least that length are Jaromir Jagr (10 GP from 1997-98 – 2007-08) and Wayne Gretzky (13 GP from 1979-80 – 1991-92).”

Some impressive names, to say the least. Barkov is one of Florida's best players and was third on the team in points last season, scoring 23 times and supplying 57 assists. After the Cats lost a few key pieces this past summer, Barkov will be in line for an even bigger role.

Before Tuesday's game, the Panthers lifted their first-ever Stanley Cup banner and Barkov had a blunt take:

“Now we get to try to chase it again,” Barkov said.

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“The fans will really enjoy the banner,” said Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe, via Sportsnet. “Looking up there, I guess if you need a little inspiration, you just look up there and see what we accomplished.”

Florida is seen as a Cup contender once again after beating the Edmonton Oilers in seven games in June. Barkov has spent his entire career with the Panthers and has consistently put up impressive numbers. His best season came in 2018-19, compiling 96 points.

General manager Bill Zito is extremely excited to his this team hopefully run it back:

“I think, at least for me, I'm already there,” Zito said. “I'm just so excited for an NHL game tonight. I can tell you, I thought that yesterday before the rings. And then when I opened the box, it was one of those surreal moments. We used the word ‘speechless.’ I was speechless. And it was pretty neat to have that happen.”

We'll see if they can live up to expectations.