Florida Panthers clinch No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference

SUNRISE – The Florida Panthers have officially clinched the first seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time in franchise history on Thursday night. 

After a 5-2 home win over the Detroit Red Wings earlier in the night, Florida had to wait for the Tampa – Toronto game to go final before they could be named the first seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Toronto’s loss to Tampa was enough for Florida to lock up the top seed with five games left in the regular season. Alongside the first seed, they are also the 2021-2022 Atlantic Division Champions. 

Florida will have home ice for the entirety of the Eastern Conference side of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Panthers currently sit atop the NHL standings with 118 points in 77 games. The Colorado Avalanche is the only team that can catch Florida for the President’s Trophy, they sit atop the Western Conference and second in the NHL with 116 points in 77 games.

As the first seed, Florida will play the second wild card team in the East in the first round.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are set to begin on May 2.