SUNRISE, Fla. – Coming off of their most decisive win in franchise history, an 8-0 victory over the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Feb. 5, the Florida Panthers now sit only one point out of the Southeast Division lead with one game in hand on the co-leaders Carolina and Atlanta. This is the closest the Panthers have been to a playoff spot after 55 games since the 1999-2000 season where the Panthers led the Southeast Division after 55 games during that season and earned the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs that spring.
The Panthers have not lost in the month of February and are currently riding a three-game win streak thanks in large part to LW Richard Zednik, who recorded his second career hat-trick, all three goals coming on the power-play, last night and has scored the game-winning goal in back-to-back games.
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The Panthers now have 14 road victories this season, their most in five years. In the game against Toronto, Panthers Captain Olli Jokinen recorded his 200th career NHL goal which also was his 400th point as a Panther. C Brett McLean had a career night recording one goal and a career-best four assists. Panthers D Steve Montador has been moved up to a forward position in the past week due to injuries and while playing offense last night, Montador recorded a career-best three points, one goal and two assists.
Lost in the offensive outburst was the dominance of G Tomas Vokoun in net. Vokoun made 24 saves to record his fourth shutout of the season and his 25th shutout of his career. |
The Panthers All-Star has a 1.62 GAA and a .951 save percentage during the Cats three-game winning streak including stopping all three Vancouver shooters in the Panthers shootout win over Roberto Luongo and the Canucks to begin this streak on Feb. 1.
The Panthers could potentially take the division lead on Thursday, Feb. 7 when they travel to Ottawa to take on the Eastern Conference leading Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place in Kanata, Ontario. Florida recently defeated the Senators 5-3 at the BankAtlantic Center on Jan. 22.
After playing Ottawa, the Cats finish off their season-high five game road trip Feb. 8-9 with back-to-back games against the Boston Bruins on Saturday and the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday.
Florida returns home to take on the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, Feb. 13. Then on Friday, Feb. 15, the Washington Capitals come to town in an important Southeast Division battle.
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