The Florida Panthers are back in a postseason spot with only five games left in the regular season.
After getting some help from the Bruins earlier in the day when they beat the Penguins, the Panthers got four goals from Carter Verhaeghe and blew out the Columbus Blue Jackets, 7-0, on Saturday in Ohio to jump Pittsburgh for the second wild card.
Although Florida will still need a little bit of help to make the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, it’s a major swing given where things stood for the Panthers earlier this week when a season-worst four-game losing streak left them with a less-than-30% chance to make the playoffs, according to FiveThirtyEight. Now, they could be in control of their own destiny by the end of the weekend, depending on what the Penguins do against the Flyers on Sunday in Pittsburgh.
