The Panthers (53 points) sit four points out of the second wild card from the Eastern Conference, with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals all ahead of them in the chase. They are nearly as close to the New York Rangers, who are last in the East with 48 points, as they are to the Buffalo Sabres (57), who currently have the second wild card.
But they have Tkachuk back. That matters.
“It’s great,” defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “You see some of the plays he makes, he’s incredible. Awesome player. Brings a lot of fire to the game and drags everyone with him into the fight. So that’s a huge addition back to our team.”
Perhaps that fire rubbed off.
It was at 6:00 into the third period…