Florida Panthers Hold Playoff Spot as Pittsburgh Penguins Struggle

Stop us if you have heard this before: The Florida Panthers and their playoff hopes are being helped along by the recent struggles of the Penguins.

On Monday night, the Panthers extended their point streak to seven games as they are now 6-0-1 heading into tonight’s game with the Philadelphia Flyers after beating the Red Wings 5-2.

While Florida was winning, the Pittsburgh Penguins lost their fourth consecutive game as Ottawa got the game-winning goal with 2:09 remaining.

By virtue of those two things going down, the Panthers took over sole possession of the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Things are starting to unravel in the Steel City.

But are the Penguins feeling the heat? They say no.

Both Florida and Pittsburgh have 12 games remaining.

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW

Sasha Barkov has been with the Panthers 10 years now, but he says it feels like he got here just last week.

On Monday night, Barkov became the all-time leading scorer in franchise history by surpassing Jonathan Huberdeau — and his teammates gave him the silent treatment.

• The Panthers have been able to make up a lot of ground in the NHL playoff race and now they hold a wild card spot. The challenge, of course, is going to be keeping it.
• Catch up on what was a busy and productive week for the Panthers.
• The Florida Panthers are going nowhere without Matthew Tkachuk as he continued his scoring streak on Monday night.
• On Saturday, the Panthers found themselves down 2-0 to the Devils going into the third period and things did look a little bleak, right? Are the Comeback Cats back?
• Video from Paul Maurice, Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe following Monday night’s win in Detroit.
• You can click the embedded videos below or click RIGHT HERE to see everything all in one place. If you hit subscribe (it’s free), you will know when new content comes up.

NATIONAL HOCKEY NOW

The bad news is not over for the Penguins as they now have to go on the road to face a Colorado Avalanche team which is playing lights out.

The Penguins will play the Avs on Wednesday and in Dallas the following night.

• John Carlson could be nearing a return to the Washington Capitals.
• Starting in 2024, Fanatics will start making NHL game jerseys. Told you.
• Will John Tortorella have some say in how the Philadelphia Flyers are built moving forward? Sounds like he wants some changes.
• Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara is running the Boston Marathon for a good cause.
• Another chapter in the Vegas Golden Knights goalie saga is upon us.
• The Calgary Flames look like they want nothing to do with his playoff race as they got thumped 8-2 by the Los Angeles Kings.

PANTHERS ON DECK

FLORIDA PANTHERS AT PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

• When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
• TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932
• Season Series (Tied 1-1): Florida 4, Philadelphia 3 (Oct. 19); Philadelphia 4, Florida 3 (Oct. 27)
• Last season: Florida won 3-0
  
• All-time regular season series: Philadelphia leads 56-37-6, 7 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Toronto at Florida, Thursday, 7 p.m.