The Florida Panthers need to win out and get help from their rivals for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
On Monday night, they did their part in a 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Roberto Luongo made 26 saves to pick up the win as the Panthers trail the playoff race 
by five points with eight points still to be had.
Alexander Petrovic struck for the winner late in the third period to give the Panthers continued life and give meaning to the final four games of the regular season.
“It doesn’t come too often, but everyone chips in a certain way, and tonight we just found a way to get the two points,” Petrovic said. “Just keeping this thing alive.”
MacKenzie Weegar and Evgenii Dadonov also scored for Florida.
“We have to win out and win every home game,” Florida head coach Bob Boughner said. “It’s not easy when you’re on a long road trip and the first game back. Sometimes those are tough games to play in.”
Trevor van Riemsdyk and Derek Ryan scored for Carolina who were eliminated from the playoff race over the weekend.
“I thought we had lots of chances early,” Hurricanes head coach Bill Peters said. “We had lots of good looks, lots of odd-man rushes early. Both teams were a little bit looser than I probably anticipated. The game tightened up a little bit as the game went along. But we needed to get something out of those offensive opportunities early in the game.”
Florida has three home games out of the four remaining.
“We needed tonight’s win at all costs,” Luongo said. “We got the job done, now we’ve got to get some rest tonight and another big game tomorrow.”
[WATCH:Â All Hurricanes vs. Panthers highlights]
Scott Darling made 32 saves in the loss as the Canes play out the season.
“More than trying to ruin their season, it’s us playing for pride for each other. That’s more important for me. We’re playing for the Carolina Hurricanes, not trying to ruin the Florida Panthers’ season. That’s how I look at it,” Ryan said after the loss.
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