Florida Breaks a Plate

The headline you see is a reference to the Good Times character Florida (yes, I will provide a clip...solely because it gets used for every offensive joke I make).  However, today is not about the character, but rather the reaction to the Florida Panthers finally making the playoffs after a decade plus drought.  Despite losing to Washington last night, the Panthers will see playoff hockey thanks to Philadelphia beating the Buffalo Sabres.  Washington gets in, too, and now, the only question remains is who will be Southeast Division champion.  Both teams would make remarkable stories, as Washington will have won the division after a circus of a season and Florida winning the division will cap off a year that will have gone from last in the Eastern Conference to division champions.  Oh, and Stephen Weiss will be seeing playoff hockey, as he has been a Panther lifer since being drafted in 2001, which is remarkable, since Nathan Horton (2003) never saw playoff hockey until last year...as a Boston Bruin, and Jay Bouwmeester (2002) still has yet to play in a playoff game.  Weiss stuck with the Panthers, even as the team stunk it up annually, and now, it will finally pay off this year.

Because I made reference to it earlier: