The Panthers looked fabulous at 40 on Monday night, but their future beyond this week is still dubious.
Defenseman Alex Petrovic scored the go-ahead goal with 7:58 left in the third period as the Panthers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 at the BB&T Center. It was just Petrovic’s second goal of the season.
The victory gave Florida 40 wins for the season, marking the fifth time in franchise history that milestone was reached. The win also gave the Panthers 88 points, five behind the idle New Jersey Devils in the battle for the last wild-card playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.