Florida enters play Thursday in the first Wild Card spot with four games to go
It hasn’t happened often, but the Florida Panthers enter play on Thursday in an advantageous position.
Four straight wins over the past week have vaulted the Panthers past the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders and into the top Wild Card spot, but their work is far from done.
Each team has four games remaining, and they’re all in action Thursday night.
The Panthers will host an Ottawa Senators team desperate to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Ottawa is six points back of the Cats and the Islanders, who hold both Wild Card sports with 87 points apiece (Florida holds the tiebreak advantage, which is regulation wins).
Both the Penguins and Islanders will play on home ice, with Pittsburgh facing Minnesota while the Isles will catch Tampa Bay on the second night of a back-to-back.
For the Panthers, the task remains simple.
Win and you stay in.
As long as Florida picks up two points against the Senators, they will finish the day in a playoff spot no matter what happens anywhere else.
Speaking of Ottawa, while things have been going well for the Panthers since the two teams met last week, the same can’t be said for the Sens.
They arrive in South Florida for Thursday’s tilt having lost three straight games, though the last two defeats came during overtime.
Like with Buffalo on Tuesday, Ottawa knows a loss to the Panthers would be devastating to any playoff aspirations.
LINEUP NOTES
The expectation is that Florida will roll with the same lineup in terms of forwards and defensemen.
Sam Bennett has been skating this week and barring any setbacks, is nearing a return. Should things go well, he could potentially be back by Saturday in Washington, though a more realistic target is likely Monday against Toronto.
The big question will be which goaltender gets the nod.
Alex Lyon has been playing wonderfully while Sergei Bobrovsky has been recovering from a non-COVID illness.
Bob skated Tuesday and Wednesday and could be deemed fit to play ahead of the Ottawa game.
If Bobrovsky is good to go, does he immediately reclaim his job as starting goalie, or will head coach Paul Maurice continue to ride the hot hand, or paw, in Lyon?
UPDATE: The lineup will remain status quo.
Lyon starts with Mack Guzda backing up.
Bobrovsky got in a good workout during the morning skate and appears to be ready to go, but they’ll hold him back at least one more game.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Gus Forsling on being in playoff-mode: “We've been having a playoff mentality, we started early with that, so I feel like that that can be a good thing for us.”
Colin White on keeping the good times rolling: “We just have to play confident out there and the way we know we're capable of playing. I think we've shown the last four games we can play with anyone, and we're playing really good hockey, so we just have to continue that.
Paul Maurice on facing the Senators for the second time in as many weeks: “I liked our game against Ottawa five on five as much as any of the last four. We were good there. Special teams is a real key so staying out of the penalty box is important. They've got a very strong power play, they’ve got an awful lot of skill. And then and then being diligent with our game five and five.”