Acquired from the New York Rangers only hours before puck-drop in Raleigh Saturday, Florida Panthers forward Wojtek Wolski scored the tying goal in an unbelievably all-important come-from-behind 3-2 shootout victory over the Hurricanes. The 26 year-old finished with a plus-1 and 4 SOG in 15:43 TOI, helping the Cats salvage an evening very much on the league’s radar.
The win propels Florida back into the number one spot in the Southeast; Winnipeg suffered a SO loss to St. Louis while the Capitals defeated Toronto 4-2 but remain a point behind both.
The Panthers take on Montreal – losers of three straight – tonight from Sunrise.
RECAPS: Litter Box Cats * SB Nation * Canes Country
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The Eastern Front
|
Rank |
Team |
GP |
W |
L |
OT |
PTS |
GF |
GA |
Home |
Away |
L10 |
Streak |
|
1 |
NY Rangers |
60 |
39 |
15 |
6 |
84 |
167 |
124 |
20-7-2 |
19-8-4 |
6-3-1 |
Won 1 |
|
2 |
Boston |
60 |
37 |
20 |
3 |
77 |
200 |
139 |
18-10-2 |
19-10-1 |
5-4-1 |
Won 1 |
|
3 |
Florida |
60 |
28 |
20 |
12 |
68 |
149 |
167 |
14-8-8 |
14-12-4 |
4-5-1 |
Won 1 |
|
4 |
Philadelphia |
61 |
34 |
20 |
7 |
75 |
203 |
187 |
14-10-5 |
20-10-2 |
4-5-1 |
Won 1 |
|
5 |
Pittsburgh |
61 |
35 |
21 |
5 |
75 |
194 |
161 |
19-8-2 |
16-13-3 |
6-3-1 |
Won 2 |
|
6 |
New Jersey |
60 |
35 |
21 |
4 |
74 |
169 |
164 |
16-11-3 |
19-10-1 |
7-2-1 |
Lost 1 |
|
7 |
Ottawa |
63 |
32 |
23 |
8 |
72 |
193 |
190 |
16-12-3 |
16-11-5 |
5-3-2 |
Lost 1 |
|
8 |
Winnipeg |
64 |
30 |
26 |
8 |
68 |
163 |
181 |
19-9-4 |
11-17-4 |
6-2-2 |
OT 1 |
|
|
||||||||||||
|
9 |
Washington |
62 |
31 |
26 |
5 |
67 |
169 |
176 |
20-8-2 |
11-18-3 |
4-5-1 |
Won 2 |
|
10 |
Toronto |
62 |
29 |
26 |
7 |
65 |
184 |
190 |
16-11-5 |
13-15-2 |
2-7-1 |
Lost 2 |
|
11 |
Buffalo |
62 |
27 |
27 |
8 |
62 |
154 |
180 |
16-11-7 |
11-16-1 |
5-3-2 |
OT 1 |
|
12 |
Tampa Bay |
61 |
27 |
28 |
6 |
60 |
170 |
209 |
18-9-2 |
9-19-4 |
4-5-1 |
Lost 2 |
|
13 |
NY Islanders |
61 |
26 |
27 |
8 |
60 |
144 |
179 |
14-14-5 |
12-13-3 |
5-5-0 |
Won 1 |
|
14 |
Carolina |
62 |
23 |
26 |
13 |
59 |
162 |
187 |
16-12-5 |
7-14-8 |
5-1-4 |
OT 2 |
|
15 |
Montreal |
62 |
24 |
28 |
10 |
58 |
161 |
171 |
11-14-8 |
13-14-2 |
5-4-1 |
Lost 3 |
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Why last night rocked:
- Look at the result any way you wish, but STL defeating a surging Jets club 3-2 in a SO could have ended much worse from where we stand/
Why last night jonesed:
- WSH over TOR, 4-2; two points for Ovechkin, Aucoin and Johansson as Caps seal victories in last two/
Panthers Playoff Update:
- FLA defeated CAR 3-2 (SO); playoff odds up 7.9 to 74.5% per Sports Club Stats /
Why tonight is a Big Deal in SoFla, beyond the obvious:
- It really isn’t particularly, though Tampa Bay and the Islanders – both with 60 points – are in action in otherwise meaningless games/
Next up for the Cats:
- Matinee vs Montreal in Sunrise; LBC Game Thread goes live at 4:30. Check out our northern cousins from Eyes On The Prize right here./
Did you know:
- Florida has won two straight in regulation over the Habs this season by a combined score of 5-3; last time Cats defeated Montreal twice in a row without an overtime session was 2006-07/
On the table:
- The NHL Trade Deadline is TOMORROW; join the usual gang of know-it-alls right here at 10 a.m. Feel that severe cough coming on yet?/
Saturday’s Organizational News:
- FLA acquired F Wojtek Wolski from NYR in exchange for D Michael Vernace and a third-round selection in 2013. Dude went out and scored an epic game-tying goal for Florida on Saturday at RBC Center. Other than that, not much to report.
- Forwards Jon Matsumoto and Michal Repik were reassigned to San Antonio
- The Rampage won – yet again – in Peoria on goals by Bracken Kearns and Greg Rallo as Jacob Markstrom stopped 40 shots and Bill Thomas collected two assists against the Rivermen. San Antonio’s third win in as many games has the Rampage only five points out of second place in the Western Conference (yeah, about that “Western” thing…a grouping which includes Rochester…)