With the way the Carolina Hurricanes have handled the Panthers this season, it is pretty apparent Florida does not want to face them in the postseason.

With the way the NHL has structured the postseason this year, the top four teams in each division will square off in their own interdivisional playoff.

The champion will play the fourth-place team in the opening round and the second playing the third.

As it stands right now, Carolina would take the division (the Canes do have 10 games left) with Florida and Tampa Bay finally getting that Sunshine State Series we have always wanted to see.

But that is jumping ahead just a touch.

The division will figure itself out in the final three weeks of this season.

Saturday is just another step.

The Panthers will play the Hurricanes perhaps for the final time this season but there is always the chance these two meet up either in the first or second round of the playoffs.

Right now, the matchup does not seem to favor the Panthers.

Although all the games have been close, as Sasha Barkov remarked Thursday night, they usually end the same way: With the Hurricanes celebrating another victory.

“Same type of games, all of them,’’ said Barkov, who scored both Florida goals as he became the first player in team history with six 20-goal seasons. Olli Jokinen and Nathan Horton both had five.

“Same finish. It’s a tight game and they end up winning. They find a way to win those games.”

Thursday was Carolina’s sixth consecutive win over Florida this season as the Panthers’ success over Columbus being washed away by their lack of it against Carolina.

The Hurricanes are 6-0-1 against Florida with the Panthers only getting four of the available 14 points to date.

Yet Carolina only leads the Panthers by two points in the standings — well, six if you give them two wins in the games it has in hand.

So, after losing Thursday’s game 4-2, the Panthers hopes to win the Central Division took a hit. A regulation win Saturday night is imperative to continue them.

“These games are definitely going to be tight,” Ryan Lomberg said.

“They’re a good team. They play hard and play as a unit out there. We’re definitely looking forward to next game and getting some redemption.”

The Panthers took Friday off so we should know Saturday morning whether or not coach Joel Quenneville and his staff have tweaked the power play any.

After going 1-for-9 with the man (sometimes two) advantage Thursday, it’s pretty obvious — and has been for some time — that Florida needs to change something up against the swarming Carolina penalty kill.

Carolina attacks Florida at the point more than any team we have seen and has done so since Game No. 1.

This is not science. Carolina has not changed. For some reason, the Panthers have not either.

The Panthers have struggled to keep the puck in the Carolina zone despite the advantage all season and the Hurricanes have had a free-for-all racing up the ice shorthanded.

“A tough night for our power play,” Quenneville said. “You’ve got to be better and more resilient than we were to be effective. We’ve got a game on Saturday to correct it.”

Why has Florida won just one of seven against Carolina?

It has just three goals on 31 power play chances. And, Carolina has three Sebastian Aho shorthanded goals to boot.

When Carolina has the man advantage it has been pretty lethal against the Panthers, scoring nine times in its 25 shots at it.

Between those nine and Aho’s three shorties, that’s 12 of the 25 non-shootout goals scored by the Hurricanes.

Toss in four empty net goals (one of Aho’s shorties went into one) and it’s easy to see how these games have gone the way they have.

The Panthers have a chance to at least end this season series on a high note and forget about the previous six on Saturday night.

Carolina is playing with house money right now and it knows it. The Hurricanes feel like they own the Panthers — and the Panthers begrudgingly agree.

Stopping the bleeding Saturday night is imperative for the Panthers if they have to face Carolina when everything is on the line in a few weeks.

Knowing they can beat Carolina, just having that tangible proof, would go a long way to some good vibes the next time around.

If we ever get there.   

CAROLINA BANGED UP

Carolina did practice at BB&T Center on Friday as they left their luxury beachfront digs for a little on-ice work in the Everglades.

Jordan Martinook left the game Thursday after a hit from Radko Gudas and will not play Saturday. Coach Rod Brind’Amour hopes it is not a long-term injury.

Brind’Amour said he has not decided on a goalie only that Petr Mrazek will not play. He did practice on Friday.

So, it’s either Alex Nedjelkovic or James Reimer.

The way Nedjelkovic has handed the Panthers, that seems the safe way to go.

Florida appears to have Chris Driedger back in net as he was working the starter net at morning skate. 

Carolina Hurricanes at Florida Panthers

PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS LINES

FLORIDA FORWARDS

97 Nikita Gusev — 16 Sasha Barkov — 70 Patric Hornqvist

11 Jonathan Huberdeau — 9 Sam Bennett — 91 Anthony Duclair

77 Frank Vatrano — 21 Alex Wennberg — 94 Ryan Lomberg

23 Eetu Luostarinen — 83 Juho Lammikko — 74 Owen Tippett

FLORIDA DEFENSEMEN

42 Gus Forsling — 52 MacKenzie Weegar

65 Markus Nutivaara — 62 Brandon Montour

3 Keith Yandle — 7 Radko Gudas

FLORIDA GOALIES

60 Chris Driedger

72 Sergei Bobrovsky

Scratches: F Lucas Wallmark, D Matt Kiersted, D Anton Stralman, G Spencer Knight 

Injured: F Carter Verhaeghe (upper body, week-to-week); F Noel Acciari (UBI, D2D); F Mason Marchment (UBI, D2D); D Noah Juulsen (UBI, TBD); D Aaron Ekblad (leg, out for regular season)

Taxi squad: D Kevin Connauton, F Cole Schwindt, F Scott Wilson, G Philippe Desrosiers

Florida power play (33/159 20.8% — 11th in NHL)

Florida penalty kill (112/141 79.4% — 16th in NHL)

PP1: Sasha Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Patric Hornqvist, Sam Bennett, Keith Yandle

PP2: Alex Wennberg, Anthony Duclair, Frank Vatrano, Nikita Gusev, Brandon Montour

PROJECTED CAROLINA HURRICANES LINES

CAROLINA FORWARDS

37 Andrei Svechnikov — 20 Sebastian Aho — 71 Jesper Fast

21 Nino Niederreiter — 16 Vincent Trocheck — 88 Martin Necas

18 Cedric Paquette — 11 Jordan Staal — 13 Warren Foegele

23 Brock McGinn — 78 Steven Lorentz — 67 Morgan Geekie

CAROLINA DEFENSEMEN

74 Jaccob Slavin — 19 Dougie Hamilton

51 Jake Gardiner — 22 Brett Pesce

6 Ryan Joakim — 58 Jani Hakanpaa

CAROLINA GOALIES

39 Alex Nedeljkovic

47 James Reimer

Carolina power play (38/138 27.5% — 1st in NHL)

Carolina penalty kill (127/151 83.8% — 4th in NHL)

PP1: Jordan Staal, Sebastian Aho, Vincent Trocheck, Dougie Hamilton, Andrei Svechnikov

PP2: Jesper Fast, Warren Foegele, Nino Niederreiter, Brett Pesce, Martin Necas