from George Richards of the Miami Herald,

With road victories over teams such as Anaheim, San Jose and Detroit, people around the NHL have taken notice of the Panthers this season.

Florida came into Wednesday three points in back of Boston and Toronto for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers were ranked eighth overall in the conference with 26 points in a league-low 23 games.

If the Panthers want to continue their ascent in the standings, they need to take care of the teams below them.

Yes, a team that finished at or near the bottom of the NHL standings the past two seasons now believes it had better get all four points from its current two-game homestand against Columbus and Buffalo.

continued