Flyers Playoff Bound Over Panthers

     The Philadelphia Flyers clinched a playoff spot with a 5-2 victory over the Florida Panthers at BB&T Center on Tuesday night. The Cats lost for the sixth time in their last seven games and have two more home games left this season. The Flyers won six of their last seven games they have played in Sunrise.
     The first period was split based on both clubs momentum as neither team scored. Florida(28-44-8) outshot the Flyers 9-1 in the first ten minutes of the game then Philadelphia(41-29-9) had an 11-1 shot advantage for the remainder of the stanza.
     Philadelphia dominated the second period as they compiled four goals. Colby Robak fanned on a clearing pass behind his own net and Adam Hall put a shot on goal from the left of the crease. Vincent Lecavalier got the rebound and placed a wrist shot from the low shot between the pads of Dan Ellis for a 1-0 lead at 2:02. Lecavalier, who has scored five goals in the last seven games, became the seventh Flyer this season to hit the 20-goal plateau.
     The Flyers extended their lead to 2-0 at 6:29 when Nicklas Grossman gave a pass to Claude Giroux at center ice, he entered the Panthers zone and fired a snap shot from the top right circle into the net.
     Giroux would pick up his second goal of the game and his 27th goal this season just over two minutes later at 8:50. Mark Streit was in the right corner when he backhanded the puck to Giroux in the high slot for a one-time wrist shot.
     The Panthers would be down 4-0 with five minutes left. Braydon Coburn took a shot from the right point that went off Matt Read in traffic. Sean Couturier then scored on a snap shot from the low right circle for his 11th tally this year.
     Florida tried to chip away at the four-goal deficit during the third period. Erik Gudbranson made it 4-1 just 1:14 into the period. Former Flyer Scottie Upshall fed a pass from the right wing to Gudbranson at the right point and he sailed a wrist shot by Steve Mason.
     Jonathan Huberdeau followed with his ninth goal of the season at 5:38 as he snapped in a shot from the top left circle. He scored for the first time in 20 games since January 20 against Pittsburgh.
     The Flyers got a three-goal cushion with 4:54 to go. Hall won a faceoff in the right circle, Lecavalier carried the puck down the right circle and sent a cross-ice pass to Tye McGinn for him to redirect it into the Panthers cage. It would be one of only three shots by Philadelphia in the third period as they were outshot 16-3 by the Panthers.
     Ellis dropped to 5-11-0 this season as he stopped 22 of 27 shots. Mason made 38 saves and improved his record to 33-18-7. Both teams were scoreless on the power play as the Cats were 0-for-1 while the Flyers were 0-for-3.