Can Matthew Tkachuk will the Panthers into the playoffs?

TORONTO -- Matthew Tkachuk expected this season would be different.

New team. New conference. New lifestyle, even.

Tkachuk was ready for all of it when the Calgary Flames traded him to the Florida Panthers last July.

But a photo finish to the Panthers' playoff race? Tkachuk didn't see that coming. And with the Panthers one point back of an Eastern Conference wild-card slot with six games to go, it's not the most comfortable scenario, either.

"I've never been in this position where we're like the one team on the outside fighting for the last, last spot," Tkachuk told ESPN this week. "I've either been out of the playoffs with x-many games left, or you're in first place. I've been in the playoffs…