The Florida Panthers qualified for the playoffs on Tuesday night … without even playing.
The Carolina Hurricanes qualified for the postseason long ago.
Although their playoff tickets have been punched, there will be plenty at stake when the Hurricanes visit the Panthers on Thursday in the regular-season finale for both teams in Sunrise, Fla.
Florida (42-31-8, 92 points) grabbed one of the two Eastern Conference wild-card spots after the Pittsburgh Penguins dropped a 5-2 decision to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.
The Panthers currently reside in the top wild-card spot, one point ahead of the New York Islanders (41-31-9, 91 points). The Islanders play their regular-season finale on Wednesday against the visiting Montreal Canadiens.
Should the Islanders win on Wednesday, the Panthers may need to win on Thursday to avoid facing the Boston Bruins in the first round. Boston has set an NHL record with 64 regular-season wins.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes (51-21-9, 111 points) are nursing a one-point lead over the New Jersey Devils (110 points) atop the Metropolitan Division.
The loser of that fight will face the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs. The winner will get the top wild-card team, which could be the Panthers.
“There’s pressure all season,” Hurricanes defenseman Jalen Chatfield said of the division race. “This is fun. You don’t want anything handed to you.”
The Panthers haven’t had anything handed to them. They made the playoffs by going 6-0-1 in their past seven games.
Prior to those seven games, the Panthers had lost four in a row. Sergei Bobrovsky was sick at the time with a non-COVID illness, prompting fellow goaltender Alex Lyon to start each of the team’s past seven games.
Lyon has a remarkable .952 save percentage during this stretch in which no team has scored more than two goals on him. The 30-year-old had appeared in just 24 NHL games prior to this season.
Offensively, the Panthers are powered by winger Matthew Tkachuk, who leads the team with a career-high 108 points. He also has 40 goals, which ranks second on the team to Carter Verhaeghe (41).
Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Tkachuk is a gamer.
“He’s so focused when he gets to the rink,” Maurice said. “He’s not distracted by anything.”
Maurice said Tkachuk is beyond good.
“You watch him, and you start to get the sense that you are hanging around a little bit of greatness,” Maurice said. “He’s a big-game, big-goal guy, and he’s done it all year.”
Another Panthers star is Brandon Montour, who has set a franchise record for single-season points (73) and assists (57) by a defenseman. His 16 goals are tied for the franchise record for defensemen.
“He’s an incredibly fit man,” Maurice said of Montour. “You get to the third period, and he has plenty in the tank.”
Carolina has, in essence, two starting goalies: Frederik Anderson (20-11-1) and Antti Raanta (19-3-3).
Sebastian Aho leads the Hurricanes with 35 goals, and Martin Necas tops the squad in points (71). Necas, 24, has set a career high in goals (24) and assists (43).
Former Norris Trophy recipient Brent Burns is tied with Necas for the team lead in assists.
The Hurricanes have qualified for the playoffs for the fifth straight season, and they are seeking their third consecutive division championship.
–Field Level Media
