FHN Today: Florida Panthers tied for top spot in NHL standings

The Florida Panthers pulled into a virtual tie with the Colorado Avalanche for the top spot in the NHL on Tuesday by virtue of their 3-2 overtime win against the Islanders and Colorado’s loss to the Capitals the night before.

Both teams have 116 points and six games remaining; if they end the regular season tied in points, Colorado would win the first tiebreaker which is non-overtime wins.

Currently, Colorado has 45 wins in regulation which is five more than the Panthers.

But what fun is that?

The Panthers, who are not actively pursuing the Presidents’ Trophy but will take it if they get it, lead the NHL with a 12-2 overtime (games decided before a shootout) record this season.

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Florida is a combined 15-6 in OT/SO this season.

More on Florida’s overtime success tomorrow.

PANTHERLAND

What a night Sasha Barkov had, eh?

The Florida captain was the only player on the ice who could solve Ilya Sorokin as the Panthers rally from a third-period deficit to beat the Isles in overtime on Tuesday night.

Barkov got his first hat trick of the season as he set a career-high with his 37th goal of the season.

Jonathan Huberdeau assisted on all three of them as he takes over the NHL scoring lead.

Nice night.

— Aaron Ekblad has been skating the past few days but on Tuesday, he joined the Panthers for their morning skate on Long Island. He won’t be coming back until the playoffs, but everyone was glad to see him out there.

— The Islanders had a nice tribute to the late Mike Bossy on Tuesday night.

— Sergei Bobrovsky was really good on Tuesday night. Again.

— Catch last night’s Panthers Postgame Show (from a train station on Long Island) as well as hear from Barkov, Gus Forsling and Andrew Brunette as we have their postgame remarks on the FloridaHockeyNow YouTube page.

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We’re close!

AROUND THE NHL

Alex Ovechkin says he doesn’t care who the Capitals open the playoffs with, but the way they have been playing lately, it looks like they are trying to avoid the Panthers.

— Time for a coaching change in Detroit? Former Detroit Red Wings forward Darren McCarty thinks so.

— The Colorado Avalanche may be tied for the top spot in the NHL but they still have a lot of visiting fans invading their building. Happens.

— The Capitals are bringing back an old friend on their 2022 Reverse Retros.

— The Bruins have not enjoyed playing without David Pastrnak and he is not with the team on its road trip.

— Can Nathan Beaulieu find a place with the Pittsburgh Penguins?

— Scary situation in Philly as a couple of Philadelphia Flyers trainers have contracted a rare blood disorder they say was caused by deadly chemicals the Zamboni at the team facility uses.

— Marc-Andre Fleury says he is coming back next season.

— The Vegas Golden Knights may not make the playoffs — and their star players will be to blame if that’s the case.

FLORIDA PANTHERS ON DECK

DETROIT RED WINGS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS  

• When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise
• TV/Streaming: ESPN+/Hulu
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM, SiriusXM
• 2021 regular season series: Florida won 6-2
• Season Series — Florida leads 3-0: Florida 3, @Detroit 2 (Oct. 29); @Florida 6, Detroit 2(March 5); Florida 6, @Detroit 1 (April 17)
• All-time regular season series: Florida leads 32-19-6, 5 ties