The Panthers can formally clinch a playoff spot this week. Here’s what needs to happen
The Florida Panthers clinching a spot in the Stanley Cup playoff and having the chance to defend their championship is all but a formality.
At this point, it’s a matter of when, not if, they will get in.
And right now, Florida is on the path to officially secure that postseason bid as early as this week.
The magic number for the Panthers is four points.
Let’s explain.
Getting into the Stanley Cup playoff field
The Stanley Cup playoff field consists of the top three teams in each division followed by the top two remaining teams in each conference. So for Florida to clinch a playoff spot, it just needs to match the maximum amount of points that the teams vying for that final playoff spot can receive.
That honor goes to the Montreal Canadiens (34-30-9, 77 points, nine games left) and Columbus Blue Jackets (33-30-9, 75 points, 10 games left), who entered Monday with the potential to max out at 95 points if they win every game they have left on their schedules.
The Panthers, with a 44-26-3 record, have 91 points with nine games remaining and already own the tiebreaker over both Montreal and Columbus (regulation wins, Florida has 35, while Columbus would max out at 33 and Montreal would max out at 34). With that, the Panthers getting to 95 points — four more points over a nine-game stretch — guarantees their place in the playoffs.
Those four points can come in any combination: Two wins in any fashion, four overtime or shootout losses, or one win and two overtime or shootout losses.
Now, any faltering done by the teams competing for that final wild card spot aids the Panthers as well. The fewer points they can accrue down the stretch means Florida needs to secure fewer points of its own to secure its playoff berth.
Atlantic Division seeding
But beyond simply clinching a spot in the playoff, this final stretch of the regular season will determine how the seeding in the Atlantic Division shakes out, which will in turn determine first-round matchups in the playoffs.
Entering Monday, the Toronto Maple Leafs lead the Atlantic Division with a 45-25-4 record and 94 points with eight games left to play. Florida and the Tampa Bay Lightning (43-25-5) are tied for second at 91 points apiece with nine games left, but Tampa Bay holds the tiebreaker over Florida by having more regulation wins (37 for the Lightning, 35 for the Panthers).
Florida and Toronto play two more times this season, Florida and Tampa once, and Tampa and Toronto once.
With how tight the standings are atop the division, the seedings are bound to move around regularly over the home stretch.
Whoever wins the division will open the Stanley Cup playoffs facing the Eastern Conference’s top wild card, which barring an epic collapse will be the Ottawa Senators (39-28-6, 84 points). The teams that finish second and third will face each other in the opening round, with the top seed of those two receiving home-ice advantage for the round.
The road ahead
The Panthers schedule to close out the season is a rough one, with Florida playing nine games in a 15-day stretch that includes three sets of back-to-backs and eight of those games against teams in contention for the postseason.
Florida begins a four-game road trip on Tuesday completely filled with contests against teams either in the playoff field or just on the outside looking in — Montreal on Tuesday, Toronto (45-25-4, 94 points) on Wednesday, Ottawa on Saturday and the Detroit Red Wings (34-33-6, 74 points) on Sunday.
The Panthers’ final homestand of the regular season includes Toronto on April 8, Detroit on April 10, the Buffalo Sabres on April 12 and the New York Rangers on April 14 before capping the season at Tampa Bay on April 15.
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