The Panthers came through with a 3-goal second period Thursday night to beat the struggling Boston Bruins 6-2. Florida ended up 2-1-1 against the defending Stanley Cup Champions for the season, and now only 2 points behind the Bruins for 2nd in the Eastern Conference.

Once again the Panthers are in line for their fourth straight win since 2008 tomorrow night against Buffalo, who is one of the teams chasing the Panthers and Capitals for the last playoff spot. It is simply amazing that Florida has not won four consecutive games in four years, but hey, that is our Florida Panthers.

Times are changing, and just looking at the score sheet last night was pretty impressive. Mikael Samuelsson, Marcel Goc, Stephen Weiss, and Tomas Kopecky all scored for the Panthers, but the other two are especially noteworthy.

Wojtek Wolski is looking like just another brilliant signing by GM Dale Tallon. He might just be the most important signing as he will take the place of Jack Skille, who is out for the year with a shoulder injury, as that offensive spark plug that gets things going. He has 8 points in 11 games as a Panther, and logs quality minutes on special teams as well. He has a new lease on his career, and it is likely he is making a very favorable impression on Tallon to be part of the Panthers' future.

Of all people, John Madden, 38, scored is first goal of the season as well as the first in a year. His tally was vital as it made it a 4-1 game just when the Bruins seemed to get some momentum going. His exuberant celebration punching the glass said it all about his frustration in getting on the score sheet after many opportunities this season.

Such a community effort in scoring is a welcomed sight to coach Kevin Dineen. His club has had very few games where it didn't come down to the last second. All of a sudden the Panthers have reeled off 11 goals over the last two games and such momentum is needed for the final 12 games.

The news keeps getting better as this team might be getting healthy at just the right time. It is possible that Kris Versteeg, Dmitri Kulikov, and Scottie Upshall could all be back in action tomorrow night against Buffalo, although Upshall could be next week.

As if the Panthers needed a punch in the arm with as well as their playing, the team on the ice might finally look like Tallon's vision last summer. Often times it is not just who is playing the best this time of year, but who is healthiest. Might the Panthers satisfy both to make some noise in the postseason? We shall see...

Twitter @DanSpiegel

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