The Florida Panthers secured an important win on Tuesday night, beating the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 and moving into a tie with the New York Islanders for the top spot in the Eastern Conference wild-card standings. Matthew Tkachuk snapped a tie in the opening minute of the third period, putting the Panthers ahead for good. Aaron Ekblad also scored for Florida while Alex Lyon made 39 saves for his fourth straight win. Panthers have now won four consecutive victories, and their strong showing has helped them catch up in the playoff race. The Sabres, though still among the best offensive teams in the NHL, are currently five points out of the playoffs with two more games remaining. With this victory, the Panthers are now positioned one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with four games left for each team. The race for the playoffs with so few games left is heating up, and fans can expect to see a thrilling finish to the season.