Worst case scenario involving the Panthers just happened for the Habs

The Florida Panthers played a game in the middle of the afternoon today. They were playing against the poor Anaheim Ducks.

It started out very well, as the Ducks took a 2-0 lead after the first period. However, Florida overcame the deficit to tie the game in the middle period. Anaheim struck for a third time late in the third, but minutes later, the Panthers tied the game again.

Unfortunately for all Habs fans, Paul Maurice's team won the game in overtime, which means the Panthers will be in the playoff picture more than ever.

At the time of writing, the Panthers are in first place in the Wild Card, just ahead of Pittsburgh, New York (Islanders), Washington, Buffalo, Detroit, and even Ottawa, who were not far behind.

Obviously, if the Panthers get their playoff spot, the Habs can say goodbye to the extra probabilities in the Connor Bedard lottery, but also to a top-16 pick. One shot at the playoffs, if Florida performs well, will greatly lower the selection rank of the Tricolore's second first round pick.

One thing we can take comfort in right now is that the teams in the playoff race all have several games in hand on the Panthers.

The Penguins have four games in hand, the Islanders have one, the Capitals have two, the Sabres have six, the Red Wings have five and the Senators have four.

If these teams were to win half the games they have played, the Panthers would no longer be in the bottom two playoff spots.

At least the Ducks added a point to their record, which means they are now three teams back of 41 points, just nine points behind the Montreal Canadiens.

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