New York. The Florida Cats fell to Washington last night, but after a late goal by Matthew Tkachuk, they were able to win – just like the Pittsburgh and New York Islanders.
So the infernal drama of the NHL’s eastern wild card race continues.
“Fortunately, we are in control of our own destiny, but we have to continue the same because everyone around us wins all the time,” said the Panthers champions after a 4-2 victory in the capital.
When the Pittsburgh Penguins won Saturday’s game against Detroit, after goals from, among others, Alexander Nylander, the pressure increased dramatically on the Florida Panthers and New York Islanders.
They were suddenly whipped to win their duels on Easter Eve – or else they’d be out of the running for two open wild-card spots in the Eastern Table.
This didn’t seem to puzzle the Islanders too much, however, as they rallied for a solid home performance at UBS Arena, beating Philadelphia 4-0. The rising Swede Simon Holmström, who eventually conceded more and more, gave assists.
On the other hand, the Panthers had some problems with the suspended Washington at Capital One Arena. When the clock ticked towards full time the score was “only” 2-2 and there was a risk of losing points. But with exactly one minute to go, Matthew Tkachuk had sent a real sock-bobber to Charlie Lindgren and 20 seconds later, Sam Reinhart had made it 4-2 into an empty net.
The situation has not changed
So the situation in table battle has not changed. The Panthers are in the first wild card spot with 91 points and the Islanders are last in the same number of points – and just below the line are the Penguins with 90 points. Then there’s a five-point gap (in a two-point system) down to the Buffalo Sabers, but they have two fewer games played and therefore a theoretical chance anyway.
– The lucky thing for us is that we control our own destiny, says Matthew Tkachuk after Florida’s victory.
– But we have to get all the points we can, because everyone around us wins all the time.
Yes, the drama won’t end until the final shot is released Friday night.