The Florida Panthers got a little bit of help last night in their stalling bid for home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs when the Ottawa Senators eked out a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning last night at Canadian Tire Centre.
Florida is still one point behind its cross-state rival with both the teams now having played 75 games. The Cats will continue its road trip tomorrow afternoon in Ottawa.
In off-ice news, the Panthers signed undrafted Swede Anton Lundmark to an entry-level contract which will start next year. Lundmark, 23, is a rangy forward who scored five goals and added four assists in 49 games for Timrå IK of the Swedish Hockey League. He appeared in four of Timrå’s six postseason games as they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Frölunda HC.
The Charlotte Checkers will be busy this weekend with not one, not two, but three road games to play, starting with tonight’s tilt against the Providence Bruins. They will face the Bridgeport Islanders on Saturday afternoon before finishing the trip on Sunday with another meeting against the P-Bruins.
Charlotte (38-20-3-3) is currently in second place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division, three points behind the Hershey Bears