Florida Panthers want to finish strong heading into the playoffs

The Florida Panthers have four games remaining before the Stanley Cup playoffs start starting with tonight’s final road test against the Chicago Blackhawks.

On Monday, the Panthers play host to the Dallas Stars with the Tampa Bay Lightning coming in for the final regular season series of the season next weekend.

Coach Joel Quenneville has been preaching that the Panthers need to continue to play true to the game even though they have already clinched a postseason berth.

This is not, he said, a time to relax.

So far, his team has responded.

Thursday night, the Panthers beat the Blackhawks 4-3 in overtime. Despite a slow start, Florida turned things on in the second and third and got two more points to keep pace — at least for now — with the Central Division leading Hurricanes.

The Panthers play the Blackhawks tonight at 8.

“We want to keep playing the right way until the end,” Quenneville said. “It’s not an on and off switch here. We want to make sure that we continue on doing what we do, playing the right way and having fun along the way doing it.”