Hamonic calls Tavares the 'best player in the league'

Travis Hamonic may be biased, but he isn't afraid of sharing his opinion.

After watching his New York Islanders teammate and captain John Tavares carve up the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of their first-round series, Hamonic was straight and to the point.

"Best player in the league," the defenseman said, according to Newsday's Mark Herrmann, about Tavares, who had a goal and two assists and was a force all night, making highlight-reel plays and throwing three hits.

"I've said that a lot," Hamonic added. "I see him every day and I'm glad he's on our side. He's a heck of a player. The last handful of games he's been carrying us and (Thursday) was no different."

Tavares is a man on a mission right now. Going back to the regular season, he has points in five straight games and seven of eight. More impressive: The Islanders weren't a lock for the playoffs until the final hours of the regular season, and Tavares got them there, the club going 3-0-1 in the final week of the regular season.

Tavares has scored in each of his past five games, and has 12 points over that span. If the Panthers want to win the series, they're going to have to figure out a way to stop No. 91.

One of the NHL's quietest superstars, Tavares had a down season by his standards, his 0.90 points per game his lowest since 2010-11, when he was 20 years old and only in his second season.

Still only 25, Tavares may have been saving himself for the spring. He's never made it past the first round of the playoffs.

"We obviously put up a really good fight in both (previous playoff defeats)," Tavares said Thursday night. "But we want to come out on the right end of this one."