Anton Lundell’s ability to ‘play with everybody’ has made him key for Florida Panthers

The thought always stays in the back of Anton Lundell’s mind.

Early in his still-young career, as he was starting to break into the NHL with the Florida Panthers, the 23-year-old center kept receiving the same piece of advice.

“You have to be able to play with everybody,” Lundell said. “You can’t only play good with certain guys.”

So Lundell took the onus upon himself to make sure the way he plays on the ice is compatible with whoever his linemates are while not compromising his own performance. It has made him a key part of the Panthers’ core, evidenced by his six-year contract extension this summer.

He primarily plays as Florida’s third-line center but has shown the ability to move up the lineup when needed, as showcased multiple times during the regular season the past two years when captain Aleksander Barkov has been out with injury or illness and during the Stanley Cup playoffs last season when Sam Bennett missed time in the early rounds with a hand/wrist injury.

That flexibility has been critical for the Panthers — and Lundell’s growth as a two-way center over his four seasons with Florida had made it even more of a benefit as he gained experience.

“I don’t view him as a third-line center,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “He’s got his own unique line. What we’re trying to do on the bench is find the right match against him that he can play and over the course of even this year, he’s played against the other team’s best some nights and I don’t think twice about him. Our expectation is he’ll be better than their guy.”

And that’s playing whatever style of game the Panthers need him and his line to play.

When the Panthers need his line to play heavy, Lundell brings the physicality.

When they need to be offensive, Lundell can be a playmaker with his passing and shooting skills.

“It’s important to learn how my wingers play,” Lundell said. “Where do they like to move? What are they good at? And I change my game a little bit [depending on that]. I just try to talk to them a lot, communicate and make sure they like to play with me.”

His wingers right now are Carter Verhaeghe and Jesper Boqvist, a duo that brings a speed element that allows them to separate from opponents, which can help with Lundell setting up breakout passes.

“It’s pretty hard to play against a line that’s fast all the time,” Lundell said.

Prior to this configuration, Lundell has also played with Eetu Luostarinen (a mainstay on his line for the better part of the past two-and-half seasons), Sam Reinhart, Evan Rodrigues and Mackie Samoskevich.

“It doesn’t matter who you play with,” Lundell said. “I just like to get my game going and our line going.”

It has worked so far this season.

Lundell is up to 28 points (nine goals and 19 assists) through 42 games played. Of those 28 points, 20 have come at five-on-five — the second-most on the Panthers behind Sam Reinhart (22). His has 10 primary assists with the game at full strength are also second-most on the team behind Aleksander Barkov (11).

Lundell also has a team-leading individual points percentage of 90.91 this season during five-on-five play and 84.85 overall, meaning Lundell has either scored or assisted on almost 91 percent of Panthers’ goals when he’s on the ice at full strength and 85 percent of Panthers’ goals when he’s on the ice regardless of situation. The league average for forwards, for comparison, is usually around 68 percent.

And he plays a vital role on special teams as well, leading Panthers forwards in shorthanded time on ice and being part of Florida’s second power-play unit.

“He’s never out of a game,” Maurice said. “He doesn’t sit five or six minutes before he gets to go back into it. ... He’s just not a young player anymore. He’s got too many games under his belt for us. He’s a veteran part of the group.”