Roberto Luongo returns, Mike Matheson scores twice as Panthers beat Flames 6-3
CALGARY — Red-hot since the NHL all-star Break, Florida’s push for a playoff spot continued on Saturday night.
Mike Matheson scored twice and Aleksander Barkov had a goal and two assists to lead the Panthers to a 6-3 win over the Calgary Flames, their seventh victory in the past eight games.
“We’ve been doing a lot better job of playing within our systems,” said Matheson. “Early on in the year we were trying to get used to it a little bit. Since having a bit of time off at the all-star break, I think we’ve been able to come back hard knowing we really can’t afford to be leaving points out there.”
Florida went into the league’s four-day break 12 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They’ve cut the margin in half, now trailing the New York Islanders and the second wild card spot by six points.