Are the Florida Panthers playoff hopes gone?

Just one week ago it looked like the Florida Panthers finally figured out the formula to play their best hockey. The Cats were riding their best stretch of the season with points in seven straight games, boasting a 6-0-1 record over that span.

On March 21, Florida went into Philadelphia holding a playoff spot with 12 games remaining on the schedule.

Six days later, the Panthers left Ottawa losers of four straight and three points back of Pittsburgh for the last wild card spot. In less than a week, Florida went from playing their best hockey of the season to their worst, as this four-game skid is the most they’ve gone without a win this year. 

Over that span, the Panthers have been outscored 21-10 despite outshooting their opponents in all those matchups. They’ve also been without the services of their No. 2 center Sam Bennett during the losing streak. The Panthers will once again be without Sam Bennett tonight as he is set to miss his fifth consecutive game. Florida has not picked up a single point in the last four games without 

With eight games left in the regular season, the Panthers will try to break out of their untimely downfall on Wednesday night against a Toronto Maple Leafs team that they’ve yet to beat all year. 

“You wake up this morning, got  singular focus… you are coming to a hockey game tonight in Toronto and we got to win this game,” Paul Maurice said after Panthers’ morning skate. 

Can the Panthers still make it?

Well, yes. The Panthers can still make the playoffs however, they clearly haven’t been doing themselves any favors over the last week. 

The teams that are above Florida in the standings still have a decent points gap on them while the teams that are behind them have been winning.

For the Panthers to sneak into the postseason, it will come down to two things.

First, they’ll need to win almost all of  their final eight games. The Islanders have a six point lead on the Panthers with one more game played, while the Penguins have a three point lead with the same number of games remaining. 

Second thing, they’ll need one of the Pens or Islanders to do what they themselves did this past week, lose a lot. 

The Red Wings did Florida a favor last night when they took down the Penguins in regulation, now it’s up to the Panthers to pick up points while there’s still a glimmer of playoff hope. 

Current Eastern Conference standings (As of March 29)

WC 1: NY Islanders 75 GP – 85  points 

WC 2: Pittsburgh Penguins 74 GP – 82 points 

In the hunt

Florida Panthers 74 GP – 79 points

Buffalo Sabres 73 GP – 77 points 

Ottawa Senators 74 GP – 77 points 

Washington Capitals 74 GP – 76 points

Florida’s locker room is still optimistic that they can turn around their season as they approach the final few games.

“Right from the break we knew that it’s gonna be tight, there’s a bunch of teams fighting for it,” Brandon Montour said on Wednesday in Toronto. “It’s gonna be tough but like I said, we got the guys in the locker room to do it.” 

Coach Paul Maurice was asked what makes him believe that his team is still in the hunt – his response was straight forward, there’s no other option. 

“Ah man this is the National Hockey League and it’s pro sports, we’re not 14 points out we’re right there,” Maurice said. “The other option is what? If you lived your life waking up without belief or thinking bad things were gonna happen you just would never get to the National Hockey League.”

Florida has three more games on this road trip before heading back to Sunrise, including a back-to-back in Toronto and Montreal

It’s simple for Florida, win or you’re not getting in.