When Bob Boughner heard Jamie McGinn was going to have back surgery for the second time in the past five years, the Panthers coach figured there was no way McGinn would play again this year.

“We all thought he was out for the season,” Boughner said. “He really worked hard to come back earlier than expected.”

McGinn worried about bigger things: He was not sure he would ever be able to play again.

Boughner said it was no secret McGinn’s career was in jeopardy.

“The whole time, I thought I was done,” McGinn said. “Florida was great about it, they just wanted me to think of myself. I honestly didn’t think I would be able to come back because I wasn’t happy being in pain 24/7. You just want the pain to go away.”

McGinn was not only able to get healthy enough to return to the sport he loves so much, but he also has done so at a pretty high level.

On Thursday, playing in his 12th game since returning to the Panthers in February, McGinn scored his fourth goal of the season by jamming home a loose puck in front of San Jose goalie Martin Jones.

It was the second goal in as many games for McGinn.

The joy on his face was evident on Feb. 23 when he scored first goal since returning against the Kings at BB&T Center. It came in his 600th NHL game.

“After I scored that goal, I just sat back and took it all in for the night,” McGinn said recently. “It was pretty special. To not know whether I would ever get to play again at the highest level … so it was special to me.”

Although the Panthers eased McGinn back into the lineup — he was waived, sent to AHL Springfield and scratched in four of five games before the trade deadline — they are starting to use him more and more.

On Thursday, McGinn played more than 12 minutes for the third time in the past five games as he helped the Panthers to their third consecutive victory.

Boughner says McGinn has really helped rookies Henrik Borgstrom and Jayce Hawryluk play a straight-forward, go-to-the-net style of play.

“I think he has worked hard to come back and now we have a real identity on that fourth line,” Boughner said Friday night. “His goals all seem to come the same way; he is parked right out in front of the net. He plays big and heavy and has done a really good job for us. We didn’t have him early in the season, didn’t have guys like (Riley) Sheahan or (Josh) Brown.

“Those guys make us bigger and heavier and having them has reflected in the way we have been playing lately.”

It is easy to say now that McGinn’s comeback may not have taken as long as some thought it would, but in the moment, McGinn was not sure of his future.

McGinn had his first back surgery while with Colorado in 2014. This summer, he said he was having no problems but then one morning woke up with a peculiar feeling. He knew something was up and had an idea what it was.

“All of a sudden, I had back pain and it was shooting down my leg and it just would not go away,” McGinn said. “I knew I had to do something. Having surgery is always a last resort. You want to try and work through it and think you can. But once there is leg pain and it is constant, you have to get it repaired.

“What is running through my head is I just want to get healthy. I want to be able to lift my kids when I get older. Health is first, hockey is secondary. I was sleeping two hours a day, was completely stressed out. I wanted to be happy. It was tough.”

After being forced to take it easy for a few months following surgery in September, McGinn was on the ice in January working his way toward a return to the Panthers. He said once he hopped on the ice for the first time, he knew he would be back this season.

“I worked my ass off to get back,” McGinn said. “I did all the right things and everything is checked off. I feel good.”

Boughner, for one, seemed pretty surprised by it all.

Just weeks before McGinn put his Florida gear back on for skates around the IceDen in Coral Springs, Boughner seemed as if he was not expecting McGinn to return at all. “I haven’t heard a thing,” Boughner said when asked for an update on McGinn.

By February, McGinn was back in uniform and playing in games.

Only it was not with Florida.

After skating for a few weeks with teammate Vincent Trocheck, the Panthers put McGinn on waivers. If he and the remainder of his $3.5 million contract was to be picked up, so be it. If not, he would be sent to the minors with no real timeline for a return back.

By all accounts, McGinn took the demotion in stride figuring he would return soon enough.

First, he needed to get back into game shape, and he figured the Panthers would send him to Springfield on a rehab stint anyway.

Secondly, well, the Panthers were paying out his contract whether he was in Florida or in the minors. Spending that kind of money in the AHL did not make a whole lot of sense long-term.

“What I liked,” Boughner said, “was he went down there, he got into scraps, scored some goals, made big hits. He jumped right into it.”

When Colton Sceviour broke a bone blocking a shot Feb. 9 at Washington and was put on IR, McGinn was brought up.

“I missed this every day,” said McGinn, who had two goals and four points in four AHL games before returning. “When the guys are going into battle and you’re stuck watching it on TV, seeing the ups and downs, all you want to do is be a part of it. It is so much fun being back, going on the road and being a part of this again.”

This shot by McGinn was saved by Penguins goaltender Matt Murray, but the Panthers wing has been enjoying a lot of success in his return. “His goals all seem to come the same way, coach Bob Boughner said. “He is parked right out in front of the net.” (Charles LeClaire / USA Today).

McGinn is definitely enjoying himself. He has taken up residence at the open end of the locker room and gets in on just about every conversation going on around him.

He was able to play against younger brother Brock when Carolina came to town earlier this month (Jamie had two assists) and he also played against former teammates in Arizona and Colorado.

McGinn had a goal in the shootout loss to the Coyotes, the team that traded him to Florida during training camp in 2017 for Jason Demers.

The three-year contract he signed with the Coyotes expires this season, but McGinn has made it clear he wants to keep going. At 30, he will likely find a place to play next year whether it is with the Panthers or somewhere else.

“I’m trying to prove that I can still play each and every game,” McGinn said. “Hopefully, I can come back here. I want to show them that I can still play at a high level and contribute to the success of the Panthers.”

On the road

Rookie goalie Sam Montembeault made his first NHL road start Thursday and the change of scenery didn’t seem to faze him as he helped Florida to its third consecutive win, stopping 26 shots in a 4-2 win at San Jose.

Montembeault, who made his NHL debut March 2 against Carolina and looked shaky at times in a 4-3 overtime loss, has been nothing but solid since.

Montembeault, 22, has made three consecutive starts, has three straight wins and has stopped 70 of 75 shots.

Boughner said Friday that Montembeault would get the start Saturday afternoon against the Kings in Los Angeles. Roberto Luongo has backed up Montembeault the past two games and could start Sunday at Anaheim.

But if Montembeault plays well — and does not see a whole lot of action Saturday — he could be playing the first back-to-back of his young NHL career.

Thursday, San Jose scored both of its goals in the opening period. Montembeault stopped all 20 shots on goal he faced in the final 40 minutes.

“We are going to see how the game goes, see how busy he is,” Boughner said. “We will make a decision after the game (Saturday). I am not ruling out that he could play Sunday as well. The guys are having a lot of fun right now, the past few weeks we have played to our identity. We are at the point, right now, where we know what we need to be to be successful.”

— Mike Hoffman made a triumphant “return” to San Jose as his power play goal in the second period gave Florida a lead it did not surrender.

Hoffman was a member of the Sharks organization for a few hours last June after being traded west from Ottawa. San Jose then flipped him to the Panthers for three draft picks.

Vacationing in Italy at the time, Hoffman said he knew a trade out of Ottawa was coming, but he didn’t expect two deals in the same day.

Too funny. Thanks for the keepsake @TealCityCrew, keep up the good natured sports trolling ! pic.twitter.com/SYD58CzBCD — Mike Hoffman (@MHoffy68) March 15, 2019

With a goal and assist Thursday, Hoffman has now set career highs in goals (32) and points (63). He is four assists away from the 35 he had with Ottawa two seasons ago.

“There were a lot of different emotions,” Hoffman said in September. “It was pretty obvious a trade was coming and that’s part of the business side of it. As a player, you have to deal with what is handed you.”

— Boughner has won three of the four meetings against the Sharks over the past two seasons. Boughner was an assistant coach under Pete DeBoer in San Jose before getting the Florida job in 2017.

“The good thing about playing San Jose, obviously, is I brought a lot over from Pete and how we played there,” said Boughner, whose team outscored the West-leading Sharks 10-4 in two games this season.

“We talked about it before the game: We have two teams which share about 99 percent of the same systems. It’s going to come down to compete and who is more detailed. It is good for us to see a team like that, a team that plays like us and has success on a nightly basis over 82 games. It is good for us to know that is a system we can have success with.”

(Top photo of Jamie McGinn celebrating his first goal of the season: Eliot J. Schechter / NHLI via Getty Images)