FHN Today: Tribute to A Friend; Florida Panthers Tighten Playoff Race

“Our condolences to the Millen family for the passing of Greg,’’ Maurice said. “Over 30 years, we crossed paths a bunch of times, and Greg was a guy that we got to know.

“For whatever reason, he ended up doing a lot of our games, and got to know the coaches. I think they ended up at the Elbo Room one night about 10 or 12 years ago.

“Just a really sad day for us, because we were excited about him with his battle with cancer. Saw him last month. He looked fantastic. So, shocking today. We’re going to miss him. Here was a great personality, a great friend to our team and our coaching staff. We felt we had a great relationship, so we’re really sad for the family.”

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW

• If you actually believed the Panthers were tanking the final games of the season so they could avoid Tampa Bay and play Toronto in the first round, Tuesday’s win over the Maple Leafs put those thoughts to rest.
• Who brought that ‘Tank for Toronto’ thought into the public consciousness?
• By beating the Leafs, the Panthers are now four points out of first, two back of second in the Atlantic. With the Senators losing in Columbus (see below), it now looks like the Battle of Florida is on. Again.
• This race is tight.
• The Panthers got some of their big dogs back for the Leafs — but Sam Bennett was not one of them. And, Maurice says, he probably won’t play until the playoffs.
• If the Panthers and Leafs do play in the postseason, well, at least they know each other pretty well.
• Don’t forget to subscribe to the FHN YouTube channel to hear from the Florida Panthers before and after games. New video from Maurice, Sasha Barkov, Gus Forsling, Brad Marchand, and Sam Reinhart is up now. More later today.

AROUND THE NHL

• If you thought the Montreal Canadiens looked good before, they just landed a potential superstar in Ivan Demidov. A top prospect has rarely looked so good. Watch out.
• Oh, and the ‘rebuilding’ Canadiens likely knocked the Red Wings out of the playoffs with their comeback win on Tuesday.
• Yeah, the Detroit Red Wings are in a world of hurt. And guess where they’re headed next?
• The Senators clinched a playoff spot on Tuesday despite a loss — and the Blue Jackets stayed alive for another day with a nice win in CBus.
• No NHL team had ever comeback from a three-goal deficit in the final minute of a game before the Canucks did on Tuesday in Dallas. Amazing, really.
• The Colorado Avalanche trailed by 2 but beat Vegas in a shootout to hit the 100-point mark.
• Did the New Jersey Devils clinch a playoff spot Tuesday? They did not. The Boston Bruins made sure of it.
• Did the New York Islanders choke one away in Nashville? They did. And now they are officially out of the playoffs.
• Y’all who lived through the bad days of the Panthers (circa 2000-11) had it easy. The Sabres are now officially out of the playoffs for the 14th straight season.
• How’s this for fun: The Sabres beat the Capitals on Tuesday, but Washington clinched the Metropolitan Division title.

ON DECK: GAME No. 79

DETROIT RED WINGS at FLORIDA PANTHERS 

• When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• Streaming: Panthers+; ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5 FM-2; WBZT 1230-AM (West Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); WCZR 101.7-FM (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL/Panthers App
• Betting Odds — Panthers Favored: Money Line (-125); Puck line (-1.5, +180); Over/Under 5.5 (-130/+105)
• Last Season: Florida won 3-1
• This Season (Red Wings Lead 2-0)— At Detroit: Red Wings 2, Panthers 1 (April 6). At Florida: Red Wings 5, Panthers 2 (Jan. 16); Thursday.
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 39-21-7, 5 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday vs. Buffalo Sabres, 6 p.m.