Things couldn’t have gone any worse on the NHL scoreboard last night for the Florida Panthers in the ever-changing Eastern Conference wild card race.
The Columbus Blue Jackets finally kicked its post-trade deadline offense into gear to blast the Boston Bruins by a 7-4 count. Columbus opened up a nine-point lead on the Cats, with Florida holding a game in hand.
Montreal kept pace with the Blue Jackets by handing the Detroit Red Wings a 3-1 loss at Bell Centre. The Canadiens matched Columbus’ 81 points, but the Jackets hold the tiebreaker advantage.
Pittsburgh overcame a two-goal deficit to best the Washington Capitals 5-3 on home ice. The Penguins jumped Carolina for third place in the Metropolitan Division, knocking the Hurricanes back to the Wild Card 1 slot.
The Panthers are off today before opening a four-game road trip on Thursday in San Jose.a four-game r