Colby Guy
The Florida Panthers did not just beat the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday, but they also punched their ticket to a third consecutive trip to the postseason.
It marks the first time in franchise history the Panthers will be in the postseason three straight seasons.
“It’s great,” Sasha Barkov said after the 5-3 win over the Sabres. “Thinking back to the beginning of my career, we didn’t make the playoffs a lot.
“This is where everyone wants to be, everyone wants to make the playoffs. You know how hard it is to make the playoffs and you see guys working hard for it.”
In a season that could have been derailed after coach Joel Quenneville resigned under pressure for his role in the Chicago Blackhawks’ sexual assault scandal.
Instead, the group rallied together and has not missed a beat since Andrew Brunette took over.
Brunette was given the interim tag on Oct. 28 and led the Panthers to a 41-15-6 record since.
“He stepped into a situation that was not real easy and did a great job with it,” Aaron Ekblad said after Brunette was named coach of the Atlantic Division All-Star team.
“He has really given us a chance to succeed with his excitement and passion for the game every day.”
Brunette has a lot of talent at his disposal as well.
He coached a Panthers team that features six 20-goal scorers, eight players with at least 40 points, and a congolmerate of gritty players who can hype their teammates up.
“I think the depth really stands out,” Brunette said.
“The depth of guys coming in and having these types of years and the unselfishness with how everyone plays [was important.] I haven’t been on many teams where it’s contagious like it is around here. It’s a fun group to be a part of.”
With that depth came a number of records.
Sunday’s win against the Sabres was the 48th of the season setting the franchise record — surpassing the 2015-16 team’s total of 47.
Another win surpasses the franchise’s point total of 103 that was reached that same year.
Florida already broke their single-season record of 267 goals last week and are now at 287.
Jonathan Huberdeau also became the franchise’s leading point scorer, hitting 97 points on the season, passing Barkov’s total of 96, which he hit during the 2018-19 season.
They were also the first team to clinch a spot in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
This team is not focused on the individual accolades or franchise records right now, however.
“We have eyes on bigger prizes,” Brunette said.
“It’s a nice accomplishment and it’s well deserved. We can celebrate a little bit, but we’ve got Toronto on Tuesday and we’ve got big games coming down the stretch. We have to make sure we’re on the top of our game over the next month.”
Florida currently sits nine points ahead of the Maple Leafs for the top spot in the Atlantic Division with 13 games remaining on their schedule.
A win on Tuesday brings their division lead to double digits.
“The rest of the season is really important,” Huberdeau said. “You know we all want to finish first and get home ice advantage.
Still, they cannot get comfortable with just a division lead.
“Regardless of the other accolades like conference or division, we just want to make sure we’re playing our best hockey,” Bruentte said.
“I just want to make sure we’re ready to go when it starts, that’s kind of on me to make sure that we’re ready.”
The Sabres took a 1-0 lead with 2:47 left in the period when Kyle Okposo deflected a shot past Spencer Knight.
Huberdeau tied the score at 6:18 off a nice feed from Claude Giroux but the score remain tied until the Florida got a pair of quick ones.
Anton Lundell and Anthony Duclair struck with goals 61 seconds apart to put Florida ahead by two goals with 2:59 to go in the second period.
Duclair scored again 57 seconds into the third period to give Florida the three-goal lead.
Buffalo answered back with two power play goals within a two-minute span to cut Florida’s lead to one.
MacKenzie Weegar iced the game with a power play goal with 1:35 remaining — officially sending the Panthers to the playoffs.