SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers missed a chance to clinch the first division title in franchise history when they wasted a 3-0 lead and lost to Winnipeg 5-4 in overtime at the BankAtlantic Center on Tuesday night.
Andrew Ladd ended the game with his second goal at 1:48 of overtime when his shot from the slot bounced in off the right post.
It was just the second time all season that Florida lost after having a three-goal lead. The Panthers lost 4-3 in a shootout against Tampa Bay Nov. 6 after leading 3-0.
With Buffalo rallying from a 3-0 deficit to beat Toronto in overtime, the Panthers also didn't clinch their first playoff berth since 2000.
The Panthers did increase their lead in the Southeast Division over Washington to four points with two games left, but the Capitals have the tiebreaker advantage. The teams will face each other Thursday at Washington.
Tomas Fleischmann had a chance to win it for Florida in the final seconds of regulation when he had a breakaway, but Ondrej Pavelec stopped his backhand.
Bryan Little gave Winnipeg a 4-3 lead with a power-play goal at 3:45 of the third period. Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian also scored for the Jets, who were playing their first game since being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with a 3-2 overtime loss at Tampa Bay on Saturday.
Pavelec finished with 32 saves.
The Jets won for only the third time in nine games (3-5-1) since a victory against Washington March 16 left them only two points out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Fleischmann, Kris Versteeg and Marco Sturm each had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who lost for the seventh time in eight games (1-3-4).
Tomas Kopecky also scored for the Panthers, who are looking to end the longest playoff drought in NHL history at 10 seasons. Florida and Toronto are the only teams not to make the playoffs since the 2004-05 work stoppage.
Jose Theodore made 25 saves for the Panthers.
Florida has held first place in the Southeast for 124 days this season, including the last 39. The Panthers took possession of first place for good with a 3-2 shootout victory at Carolina Feb. 25.
The Jets evened the season series at three victories apiece, with each team winning once in a shootout. The other Winnipeg victory was a 7-0 shutout at MTS Centre in the teams' last meeting March 1.
Florida led 3-2 heading into the third period before Ladd tied the game just 53 seconds in on a seemingly harmless wrist shot from the top of the right circle.
With Mike Weaver in the penalty box for delay of game, Little one-timed a pass from Blake Wheeler inside the right circle and beat Theodore just inside the right post.
Kopecky tied it at 16:07 when he beat Pavelec with a wrist shot from a sharp angle from near the boards.
Sturm and Versteeg's goals 1:57 apart gave Florida a 2-0 lead late in the first period.
Sturm opened the scoring at 12:03 of the first period when he put home a rebound from close range after Pavelec stopped Dmitry Kulikov's wrist shot from the right point.
Versteeg then broke a 15-game goal-less drought with a power-play goal at 14:00. Standing in front of the net, Versteeg tipped Brian Campbell's slap shot from the middle of the blue line.
Fleischmann made it 3-0 just 25 seconds into the second period with his team-leading 27th goal. He scored on a feed from Versteeg, falling to the ice after his one-timer just inside of the right faceoff dot. Pavelec got a piece of Fleischmann's shot, but it managed to find the net anyway.
Florida appeared in total control of the game as the second period continued, at one point outshooting Winnipeg 20-9.
The Jets cut into the lead at 13:15 when Kane scored his 30th of the season after a turnover at the Winnipeg blue line. Kane converted a 2-on-1 after taking a pass from Spencer Machacek.
Bogosian made it 3-2 at 17:21 after Theodore had made three big saves in a row. Bogosian stopped Ed Jovanovski's clearing attempt at the point and fired a slap shot while Theodore was still sitting in his net.
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