NHL playoff standings: Must-win game for the Panthers?

It's a typically light Wednesday schedule in the NHL this evening, with only three games on the slate. One of them pits a team that just clinched a playoff berth -- the Toronto Maple Leafs, who appear destined for a first-round matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning -- against one that is trying to claw its way back into a wild-card spot, the Florida Panthers (7:30 p.m. ET, NHL Power Play on ESPN+).

Heading into the game, the Panthers are three points behind -- and four regulation wins ahead -- the Pittsburgh Penguins for wild card No. 2, and six points and two regulation wins behind the New York Islanders for wild card No. 1.

Following Wednesday night's clash with the Leafs, it's a string of…