Well, as of Saturday night, the Florida Panthers still maintain the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The main reason is: goaltender Alex Lyon.
The Cats have won six straight games, including a huge win over the divisional rival Ottawa Senators, 7-2, on Thursday night. In doing so, Florida eliminated Ottawa from playoff contention.
The Panthers also just beat the Capitals on Saturday night. Matthew Tkachuk scored the go-ahead goal with just a minute left in Washington.
Alex Lyon
Let’s talk about the man, the myth, and the legend: Florida Panthers hidden gem Alex Lyon, otherwise known as the Lyon (Lion) King.
Starting goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has been out with an illness, so the Panthers leaned on backup Alex Lyon to lead the Panthers into the playoffs, and he has been red hot.
He stopped 56 of 58 total shots against the Senators, which is a regulation record, previously held by Craig Anderson when he made 53 saves on March 2nd, 2008 against the New York Islanders.
Lyon almost broke the record for saves in a full game, which is held by Roberto Luongo, who had 57 saves in an overtime loss against the Red Wings in 2002.
But Saturday night was maybe the tip of the castle for Alex Lyon’s game. In his last six games, Lyon is 6-0-0 with a .956 save percentage. On the season, Lyon is 9-3-1 (2.88 GAA/.914 SV %).
Simply, Lyon is the hottest goalie on the planet, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
What’s Next?
The Florida Panthers and New York Islanders are currently tied for a wild card spot, each with 91 points. The Pittsburgh Penguins are one point behind with 90 points, currently sitting outside of the playoff picture.
For the Panthers final stretch, they come back to Sunrise to play two playoff teams, the Maple Leafs on Monday, and the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.
Both of those games are MASSIVE for the Panthers, as their magic number is three.
The Islanders, meanwhile, travel to Washington on Monday, and then come back home on Thursday to play Montreal.
For the Pittsburgh Penguins, they host the Blackhawks on Tuesday, and then travel to Columbus on Thursday.
For the Panthers to get into the playoffs, The King of the Jungle (Alex Lyon) will have to continue to make big saves and the whole team around him will have to continue to do well.
The good news: Florida controls its own destiny.
The bad news: Florida has the toughest path to get in.