Just a few days ago, the Florida Panthers had closed the gap in the Eastern Conference playoff standings to three points and things were looking good.
Today, the Panthers come into their home game with the Winnipeg Jets looking up at an eight-point hole with four games left before the Olympic break and 29 remaining in the season.
As things stand right now, five teams from the Atlantic Division hold a playoff spot — Tampa Bay, Detroit, and Buffalo hold the top three automatic bids; Montreal and Boston the two wild cards.
The way teams in the division are playing, the Panthers have not been able to afford any slip-ups without losing ground.
And, losing two straight has been reflected in Florida’s five-point drop since winning in Chicago on Sunday.
Two of the three teams within that eight point range for the Panthers (Buffalo, Montreal, Boston) do not seem to lose a whole lot these days.
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Montreal is just 5-4-1 in its past 10 but has won two straight; the Sabres, meanwhile, are 7-2-1. Boston is 8-1-1.
According to MoneyPuck.com, the Panthers have a 41.9 percent chance of making the playoffs — significantly lower than the Sabres, Bruins, or Canadiens.
The Panthers really need to get going if they hope to get back into this thing.
They know it, too.
“Urgency is high,’’ Sam Reinhart said. “You’re going to need these and these next couple of games are as important as ever. It’s disappointing right now to let some points slip away. There’s nothing else to say about it, really.’’
Although the Panthers will not get much rest during the upcoming Olympic break — right now, nine players are still on schedule to represent their countries in Italy — before playing, basically, every other night coming out of it.
Florida’s schedule, at least when it comes to opponents, could be worse but it certainly could be easier.
According to Tankathon.com, Florida’s remaining schedule is ranked 11th toughest to finish the season with a combined winning percentage of .568.
Boston (third toughest), Buffalo (fourth), and Montreal (eighth) do have a tougher batch of opponents.
The Panthers will have a chance to gain some ground on all three.
Florida plays the Bruins and Sabres two more times each, and Montreal one more time.
The Panthers will play the Sabres on Monday night and Boston on Wednesday before playing their final game before the break on Thursday in Tampa.
It is not too late for the Panthers, not with 29 games remaining.
But they need to get going sooner than later.
Beating the Sabres and Bruins next week would be a good start.
ON DECK: GAME 54
WINNIPEG JETS at FLORIDA PANTHERSÂ
