One point over their final two games.
That's all the Panthers need in order to reach the playoffs for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
Florida visits Washington on Thursday night with the hopes of capturing its first division title — and at the same time dethroning the Capitals, who have won four consecutive Southeast Division titles since 2007.
Although the Panthers (92) hold a four-point lead on the Caps entering the game, they don't own the tiebreaker.
"At the end of the day, we've always felt that any kind of success goes through Washington, and that's respect for their history and the talent level they have," Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said. "Now it's sitting right there. For us to have success, we have to go into their building and play well."
But the Verizon Center hasn't been a welcoming place this season for Florida.
In two games — the most recent in early February — the Panthers are 0-2 and haven't scored a goal. In fact, the Panthers have lost three of five to the Capitals, including two in a row, and have been outscored 15-10 overall.
In order to escape those woes, Dineen said the team must continue to put pucks on net and create opportunities.
"We know we're going in a hornet's nest in Washington, but we've battled adversity all year, through injuries and tough stretches, and we'll come up with a good game plan and not only get one point but get two," defenseman Ed Jovanovski said following Tuesday's game.
On Tuesday, the Panthers saw their three-goal advantage erased in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Jets. It marked the first time the Panthers coughed up a 3-0 lead since losing 4-3 in a shootout to the Lightning on Nov. 6.
Though Florida has picked up at least a point in 12 of its past 14 games (6-2-6), the team has lost seven of eight. Tuesday also signified the continuation of a startling overtime/shootout trend: The Panthers added on to their league-leading losses with 18.
"It was frustrating last night and it was tough, but you've got to forget about those things really quick in this game," center Shawn Matthias said. "That's the beauty of our sport. There's so many games. You play usually the next night or the night after, and we're in a good spot."
Thanks to last year's busy offseason, the Panthers aren't too worried. In its flurry of moves, Florida picked up seven veterans through free agency and another by trade, including Jovanovski, goaltender Jose Theodore and former Capitals left winger Tomas Fleischmann.
The players have embraced a short-term memory in a season with its ebbs and flows.
"That's huge to have guys who have been there, done that before," center Stephen Weiss said. "They're not panicking. We're still in a really good spot, and that's how we have to look at it, and we've got to enjoy the challenge of where we're at."
Weiss, who has spent all 10 of his NHL seasons with the Panthers and has yet to reach the postseason, remembers when the team went to Washington a few years back and saw the Capitals clinch the division. He admits it "would be nice to go in and do it" in return.
"It would've been nice to do it [Tuesday] night in front of the home fans, but so be it," Weiss said. "We haven't done it easy all year. I can wait another day."
If Florida cannot record a point against the Capitals, the team still has a shot in its regular-season finale at home Saturday night against the Carolina Hurricanes.
"We're one point from clinching, and that's the way we have to look at it," Matthias said. "We've got two games left, and we want to win both those games and prepare our best. Go into Washington [Thursday]night with our best game of the year and come out with lots of energy and have our feet moving and be ready to play a rough and rugged game."
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