Toronto thwarted the Florida Panthers’ chance to secure a playoff berth Monday night when the Maple Leaf’s star forward John Tavares scored with just 21.3 seconds left in the five-minute extra session.
Despite the 2-1 loss, the Sunrise-based skaters have control of the top wild card chance to get in the playoffs, the Miami Herald reports. The Panthers are one point ahead of the Islanders and two ahead of the Penguins. A spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs is theirs if they win their regular-season finale Thursday against Carolina.
Losing that, the Panthers’ playoff berth hangs on other teams losing.
– Anne Geggis, Florida Politics