Let's talk about the Florida Panthers for a minute. On Tuesday night they had an opportunity to do two things with a victory over the Winnipeg Jets. They would not only officially end what is the longest current playoff drought in the NHL, but they would have also won their first division title in franchise history.
Thanks to a 5-4 overtime loss, none of that happened. And man, what a kick in the face this turned out to be.
For about 30 minutes things looked great. The Panthers were in front 3-0, and it looked to just be a matter of closing out the second half of the game and clinching their first playoff berth in 10 years. Then things started to go wrong. Very wrong. After the Jets scored four consecutive goals to take a lead in the third period, Florida's Tomas Kopecky managed to sneak a shot through Ondrej Pavelec to tie the game.
And then it happened. Tomas Fleischmann, one of general manager Dale Tallon's biggest -- and perhaps most controversial -- offseason additions emerged with a breakaway in the closing seconds. He had the game, and the division, on his stick, only to have this happen.
So. Close. (And what a save by Pavelec).
Andrew Ladd would go on to win the game in overtime for the Jets, putting the Panthers celebration on hold, forcing them to wait at least another night. With the overtime loss the Panthers gained a point (their 18th loss in overtime or a shootout this season, by far the most in the NHL) and reduced their magic number to just one. Any point gained by the Panthers or lost by the Capitals would clinch the division. The two teams meet for the final time on Thursday night in Washington.
The Panthers have now lost seven of their past eight games, with six of the losses coming against teams that have already been eliminated from playoff contention.
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