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Barkov’s beautiful goal pushes Panthers into playoff position

Columbus Blue Jackets v Florida Panthers

SUNRISE, FL - NOVEMBER 26: Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Florida Panthers circles the net with the puck against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the BB&T Center on November 26, 2016 in Sunrise, Florida. The Panthers defeated the Blue Jackets 2-1 in a shoot out. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

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The Florida Panthers just won’t be denied as they end the night in the East’s top eight.

It’s fitting, then, that Aleksander Barkov wouldn’t be denied on his game-winner against Los Angeles on Saturday.

Barkov bursts beyond multiple Kings, fights off what would have been an obstruction penalty and then beats Peter Budaj by the narrowest of margins to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead 15 seconds into the third period. They would never relinquish that edge to Los Angeles, winning their fourth game in a row.

In the process, the Panthers - a team that seemed to be fledgling when it fired Gerard Gallant - now find themselves in the East’s top eight. Heck, they’re actually above the wild card fray by a hair.

Before we get to that ... just bask in the glow of this Barkov goal:

Again, it was such a small window to beat Budaj, too:

(If the Panthers’ place in the standings doesn’t sway you into taking them seriously, maybe note plays like that and the fact that Barkov has 20 points in his last 17 games.)

OK, so with this win, the Panthers did some serious leapfrogging. They now rank third in the Atlantic Division (thanks to a game in hand on Boston) and have more points than Toronto as far as wild card concerns go, anyway.

Atlantic Division rankings

1. Canadiens - 70 points in 59 games
2. Senators - 68 points in 56 games
3. Panthers - 64 points in 57 games

Bruins - 64 in 58
Maple Leafs - 63 in 47
Sabres - 62 in 59
Lightning - 58 in 57
Red Wings - 56 in 58

From a wild card perspective

Third in Atlantic - Panthers - 64 points in 57 games
Second wild card - Bruins - 64 in 58

Maple Leafs - 63 in 47
Islanders - 62 in 57
Sabres - 62 in 59
Flyers - 61 in 58
Devils - 60 in 58
Lightning - 58 in 57
Hurricanes - 56 in 54
Red Wings - 56 in 58

Everything’s so close that the Panthers can’t pop champagne bottles, but they’re also very much in control over their hopes. While it never hurts to see your competitors stumble, the Panthers can take care of business. They “control their own destiny,” to use silly sports parlance.

And considering how they’ve been playing lately, they might be as tough to handle in the playoffs as Barkov was to stop on that outstanding 3-2 goal.