The Florida Panthers are on a ridiculous roll right now. They’re even hotter than the also-quite-hot St. Louis Blues.
You could practically hear the air leave the building in St. Louis as Vincent Trocheck’s goal made it 2-1 with just five seconds remaining in regulation. To little surprise, that ended up being the final score on Monday in what was otherwise quite the goaltending duel between James Reimer and Jake Allen.
The Panthers won all five games of what seemed to be a harrowing road trip on paper:
Feb. 11: 7-4 win against Predators
Feb. 15: 6-5 OT win against Sharks
Feb. 17: 4-1 win against Ducks
Feb. 18: 3-2 win vs. Kings
Tonight: 2-1 win over St. Louis
The Panthers played 18,000 seconds of hockey on this road trip and trailed for 93 of them.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) February 21, 2017
The Panthers now face a four-game homestand to close out February and also play seven of eight in Florida. (Actually, eight of nine, as they close out that run by visiting the Lightning on March 11).
Anyway, the Cats are in the catbird seat, and they finish the night back in front of the Boston Bruins for third in the Atlantic Division:
1. Canadiens - 70 points in 59 GP
2. Senators: 68 in 57
3. Panthers - 66 in 58
Bruins - 66 in 59
Maple Leafs - 65 in 58
Sabres - 62 in 60
Lightning - 60 in 58
Red Wings - 58 in 59
Q: Are the Cats hot?
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) February 21, 2017
A: 👇 pic.twitter.com/JLLQ3nC1dh
As you can see, games in hand stand as Florida’s advantage over Boston, but with the Bruins holding the second wild card spot, the Panthers’ position in the playoff picture is clear (if vulnerable).
Again, it wasn’t like the Panthers outright dominated the Blues.
St. Louis and Florida both looked sharp in this one, but the Blues have lost two straight games in regulation after reeling off a six-game winning streak. With a ton of road games on the docket through the next month, the Blues will just need to keep fighting.
At least Mike Yeo has an easy team to point to in explaining how the Blues can overcome such challenges.