With Dmitry Kulikov now out of the lineup, the Florida Panthers recalled defenseman Tobias Björnfot from the Charlotte Checkers yesterday. Björnfot played eight games for the Cats earlier in the season. The 23-year-old has appeared in 43 games with the Charlotte Checkers, producing two goals and 16 points and collecting 16 PIM.
After thumping the Panthers on Saturday, the Montreal Canadiens surged into a playoff spot with a 6-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators at Bell Centre last night.
The Canadines leapfrogged the New York Rangers, who were beaten 2-1 by the Calgary Flames at Madison Square Garden, to take control of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
In other games, the Vancouver Canucks held on to the second wild card in the Western Conference with an impressive 6-2 thrashing of the Winnipeg Jets. The St. Louis Blues kept pace with the Canucks by beating the Nashville Predators by a 4-1 count. Vancouver and St. Louis are tied with 75 points, with the Canucks having played one less game. The Edmonton Oilers blasted the soon-to-be Utah Mammoth 7-1 at Rogers Place. The New York Islanders doubled up the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-2. Mikael Granlund’s second goal of the night gave the Dallas Stars a 4-3 overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks. The Washington Capitals skated to a 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings. And finally, former Florida backup Spencer Knight had a rough go of it in the Chicago Blackhawks 6-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken.
There are only two games on the slate tonight, with the Colorado Avalanche’s visit to the Toronto Maple Leafs being of utmost interest to Panthers fans. The Minnesota Wild will host Seattle in the late game. Both games are on TNT.
In the AHL, the Charlotte Checkers will play game number four of a six-game road trip when they do battle with the Utica Comets at 7 p.m. at the Adirondack Bank Center.