CATS CLAWING IT OUT FOR PLAYOFFS

Chasing down a playoff spot in the last stretch of the season, Florida’s Aaron Ekblad admitted he was scoreboard-watching on Tuesday night when New Jersey came from behind and beat Carolina 4-3. With the win, the Devils moved three points ahead of the Panthers for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

“Absolutely, we’re all thinking about it,” Ekblad said of the playoff race.

And yet, the only team Ekblad really had to worry about was his own. Heading into Wednesday night’s game against the Maple Leafs, the Panthers had two games in hand on Devils and three games in hand on the Flyers, who held a five-point lead on the first wild-card spot.

As Ekblad said, “If we win out the rest of our games, we’ll have more points than them. So our fate is in our hands.”

Of course, it’s not so simple when you look at whom they have left to play. PHILADELPHIA 90 POINTS Games remaining: 5

It was a month ago when the Flyers looked like they might win the division. On Wednesday, they headed into Colorado hanging on for dear life. The good news is that aside from Boston, Philadelphia’s remaining games are against non-playoff teams.

NEW JERSEY 88 POINTS

Games remaining: 6

New Jersey, which is riding a three-game winning streak, recently defeated Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh. Based on their strength of schedule, there’s every reason to believe the winning should continue as the Devils are 8-2-3 this season against it coming opponents. FLORIDA 85 POINTS

Games remaining: 7

Five of Florida’s remaining eight games are against playoff-bound teams, including three against the Bruins. Playing against teams that have already clinched can sometimes be an advantage, but chances are Boston will be battling Tampa Bay for top spot in the East. In other words, don’t expect an easy night.