The Florida Panthers preserved their playoff hopes thanks to much of their offense coming from unlikely sources.

Alexander Petrovic scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period to lift the Panthers to a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night.

Evgenii Dadonov and MacKenzie Weegar also scored to help the Panthers snap a three-game skid and pull five points behind idle New Jersey for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. Florida has four games remaining Royce Freeman Jersey Broncos , one more than the Devils. Roberto Luongo stopped 26 shots.

Petrovic and Weegar entered the game with one goal each on the 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.”

On the go-ahead goal, Petrovic shot from the boards above the right circle and beat Darling with 7:58 left for his first goal since Feb. 14 against Vancouver. His second goal of the season couldn’t have come at a better time.

The Panthers host the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night.

”We needed tonight’s win at all costs Zack Greinke Jersey ,” Luongo said. ”We got the job done, now we’ve got to get some rest tonight and another big game tomorrow.”

Derek Ryan and Trevor van Riemsdyk scored for Carolina, and Scott Darling finished with 32 saves.

”They knew they needed two points tonight and they were going for it,” van Riemsdyk said. ”They were desperate Panthers Ian Thomas Jersey , and they found a way.”

Carolina had tied it 2-2 with 6:12 left in the second it caught Florida on a line change, and Ryan backhanded the puck past Luongo for his 15th.

The Hurricanes were eliminated from the playoffs on Saturday night and could have played the spoiler role.

”More than trying to ruin their season it’s us playing for pride for each other. That’s more important for me,” Ryan said. ”They dug deep when the pressure was on.”

The Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead on a goal by van Riemsdyk 3:44 in. Luongo blocked a shot from in front by Brock McGinn but van Riemsdyk slapped in the rebound for his third.

The Panthers answered 19 seconds later when Weegar’s shot from the right circle went over Darling’s glove for his second of the season. Weegar’s last goal was on Oct. 20 against Pittsburgh.

”We’ve got to respond after they score, and we did just that. I’m happy I could contribute. It’s been a long time Aaron Rodgers Jersey Elite ,” Weegar said.

Dadonov gave the Panthers ahead 2-1 on a power-play goal with 9.1 seconds left in the first. Aleksander Barkov passed over to Dadonov in the slot and he flipped the puck off Darling’s leg for his 27th.

NOTES: Barkov’s assist on Dadonov’s goal was his 50th, becoming the first Panthers player to hit that mark since Olli Jokinen had 52 in the 2006-07 season. … Panthers forwards Frank Vatrano and Denis Malgin returned after missing the previous game with injuries.Carolina recalled D Roland McKeown from AHL Charlotte on Sunday.

UP NEXT:

Hurricanes: At Philadelphia on Thursday night.

Panthers: Host Nashville on Tuesday night.

The NFL plans to contact the Buffalo Bills regarding team president Russ Brandon’s abrupt resignation amid allegations he had an inappropriate relationship with a female employee.

The league released a statement Thursday saying it will discuss the matter with the Bills and ”make a decision in the next few days about what, if any, further steps we will take.”

Brandon was also president of the Terry and Kim Pegula-owned Buffalo Sabres.

NHL spokesman Gary Meagher tells The Associated Press the league has determined Brandon’s resignation is ”appropriately a club matter” after consulting with Sabres officials.

Brandon resigned Tuesday after spending 20 years working up the Bills’ executive ranks Authentic Alex Cappa Jersey , and spending the past three years overseeing the Sabres.

Two people with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that Brandon’s resignation came after he was confronted about the relationship by the Pegulas. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because it is an internal matter, and the Pegulas did not provide a reason when announcing they accepted Brandon’s resignation.

Brandon told the AP he had contemplated stepping down from the job for some time, and felt the timing was right following the conclusion of the NFL draft. He did not respond to follow-up questions regarding the alleged relationship.

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