Thanks to Jared McCann's late third-period goal and the work of the rest of his Florida Panthers teammates, the Lightning now controls its own destiny in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference points standings.
The Panthers' 3-2 win Thursday against the visiting Bruins means the Lightning (53-23-4) and Bruins (49-19-12 remain tied atop the division with 110 points. The Lightning now holds the first tiebreaker, which is regulation and overtime wins (47 to 46).
Now, the Lightning's games tonight against the Sabres (25-43-12) in the regular-season finale and Saturday at Carolina in the season finale are important.