Panthers' Playoff Pulse Fades in Crucial Week

The Florida Panthers stare down a brutal week where every shift counts, with their slim playoff odds dipping to single digits after a disheartening 5-1 thud in Newark against Jacob Markstrom and the Devils. Bill Zito's phone has been buzzing non-stop since the Olympic break, as this two-time champ squad without captain Aleksander Barkov claws for any spark amid a string of losses that playoff contenders simply can't afford.