The Florida Panthers (19-12-4) entered the three-day holiday break playing some of their best hockey of the season. They've their last five straight, and 11 out of their last 14, to place themselves squarely in the postseason conversation.
In their last two games before Christmas, the Panthers earned a 5-4 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks and also a 2-1 shootout victory over the Ottawa Senators. It's taken some extra work to get the job done lately, but Florida's been coming away with two points more often than not.
Brandon Pirri and Aleksander Barkov delivered for the Panthers in their shootout against the Senators.