SUNRISE, Fla. _ In a way, everything will stay the same for the Florida Panthers between their 6-5 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday night and their next game on Tuesday night. Their record will not change. Their statistics will not change. The team will still be out of a playoff spot.
But the franchise could be altered.
With Saturday night's victory over Pittsburgh, the streaking Panthers continued to claw back into the playoff race, just in time for Monday afternoon's trade deadline. Florida has now won nine of its last 12 games. It entered the night just five points from a playoff spot for the first time since mid-January.
Behind the strength of an Evgenii Dadonov hat trick, Florida perhaps jumped off the fence between buyer and seller and placed itself as a team looking for help in the next two days. Twelve different players registered points for the Panthers, who snapped the Penguins' six-game winning streak.
Dadonov scored the game-winning goal with 1:53 remaining in the third period, pushing back a furious third-period comeback from the Penguins. Pittsburgh scored two goals 49 seconds apart in the third period to tie the game in the last five minutes, erasing what was once a three-goal lead for the Panthers.
Vincent Trocheck scored for the second straight game. Jamie McGinn scored a goal in his return to the lineup after he was scratched on Thursday. Derek MacKenzie scored for the first time in a month.
The offensive outburst balanced a potent Pittsburgh attack that received two goals from Evgeni Malkin. Carl Hagelin also scored for the Penguins after rolling from the blue line into the slot in the first period. Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry was yanked for Matt Murray in the second period after MacKenzie's goal made it 4-1.
Twice earlier this season the Penguins offense dented the Panthers for four goals. In those games, Pittsburgh's power play did most of the damage, capitalizing with four goals on the man-advantage.
On Saturday night, the Panthers did not take a penalty until Nick Bjugstad was called for roughing and fighting in the third period. Patric Hornqvist scored on the ensuing power play. Bryan Rust's goal after a scramble in front of the net tied the game at 5 less than a minute later.
The win gave the Panthers another win in the teeth of their schedule. Pittsburgh was the fourth straight current playoff team Florida faced. It lost at Winnipeg and Toronto. It beat Washington on Thursday night. Bob Boughner wanted Florida to be in the playoff hunt after this stretch that also includes Toronto (again), New Jersey and a road game in Tampa Bay.
"I think that these group of games here are a real measuring stick," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said before the game. "We have to see how we're going to elevate our game. For the rest of the month, we know our schedule. We talked about getting through February and staying in this race and keep clawing away and getting points. So far, so good."
Once the calendar flips to March, the slate softens. Sinking teams like Buffalo, Ottawa, Edmonton, Montreal and Arizona dot the schedule. Florida has one head-to-head chance to gain ground on each of the teams it's chasing: Columbus, Carolina and the Islanders. Plus, the Panthers have played the fewest games in the NHL.
Saturday's result pushed them closer to a tougher decision in the coming days.
Armed with top-end prospects and draft picks and cap space, the Panthers could make Monday interesting. Or they could simply tweak the roster's edges to gear up for a playoff push. Or they could do nothing.
Separate reports Saturday noted the team was interested in big-name defensemen like the Rangers' Ryan McDonagh and Ottawa's Erik Karlsson. The team has been linked to Montreal's Max Pacioretty. Florida made a small deal earlier this week by acquiring forward Frank Vatrano from Boston for a third-round pick.
In the Panthers' first 33 games, they could not string together three straight wins. In the past 26 games, including Saturday night, Florida has a five-game winning streak, a four-game winning streak and a three-game winning streak. It will try to win its third straight game Tuesday against Toronto.
"We definitely have that urgency, that mindset that right now is the playoffs," Trocheck said. "Obviously, if we don't turn it on and continue to play the way the last 10 (games) the rest of the season, we're not going to make the playoffs."
