SUNRISE, Fla. _ The last time the Blues had seen the Florida Panthers, the closing scene was not pretty.
On Feb. 20 in St. Louis, Florida's Vincent Trocheck scored the game-winner with just five seconds left in regulation for a catastrophic loss.
They met again Thursday at the BB&T Center, and the Blues had to put that finish out of their mind. The club a chance to clinch third place in the Central Division and seal a date with Minnesota in the first-round of the playoffs.
But although the Blues held up their end in the scenario, edging Florida 6-3 in a see-saw affair, they may have to wait to claim the last of the three playoff spots in the division. That's because Nashville was leading Dallas Thursday and a win by the Predators would push the celebration to Saturday when the Blues travel to Carolina.
The Blues now have 95 points and can clinch with one more point in their final two regular-season games, or point lost by Nashville, which wraps up its season Saturday in Winnipeg.
The Blues bounced back from their loss to Winnipeg on Tuesday with two goals from it much-maligned power-play unit, including the game-winner.
The team had converted just one of its last 20 power-play chances in the last eight games. But in a contest tied 3-3 in the third period Thursday, the Blues scored on back-to-back man-advantages to pull away.
Patrik Berglund netted his 23rd goal of the season, setting a career-high, with 9:23 left in regulation to break the tie, 4-3. Then Alex Pietrangelo picked up his 14th of the season, extending his career-best mark, with 6:11 left in regulation.
That was the end of a back-and-forth game that saw six goals in the third period. The Blues held a 2-1 lead going into the frame on Vladimir Tarasenko's 38th goal of the season and Ryan Reaves' sixth, but Florida came back to catch the Blues at 2-2 and again 3-3 after David Perron netted his 18th goal of the season.
But the Blues pulled away on the two power-play goals and Jaden Schwartz added an empty-netter for his 19th goal of the season. He also had two assists for a three-point night.
Jake Allen made 29 saves for the win.
