G Alex Lyon, rising Panthers take on Capitals

It's not possible to give a team-MVP award to a player who has played in just 12 games this entire season.

Or is it?

Third-string goalie Alex Lyon, who has led the Florida Panthers to five straight wins, has played a large role in the team's resurgence as they try to lock up a playoff spot. And he is expected to be in the nets again on Saturday against the host Washington Capitals.

After having the NHL's best regular-season record in 2021-2022, the Panthers have battled through an up-and-down season, and four consecutive losses in late March left them in grave danger of missing the playoffs.

And that's when starter Sergei Bobrovsky went down with a non-COVID illness.

In went Lyon.

Up went Florida's fortunes.

The five wins in a row have given the Panthers (41-31-7, 89 points) a slight edge over the New York Islanders (89 points) and Pittsburgh Penguins (88) in pursuit of the Eastern Conference's two wild-card playoff spots with three games remaining.

"I'm happy for (Lyon) because he has worked really hard to be this good," coach Paul Maurice said. "He's earned it."

Lyon nearly set a franchise record on Thursday, making 56 saves in a 7-2 win over the Ottawa Senators. That was one save short of Roberto Luongo's franchise record, set in 2002.

But it's not just Lyon.

During this five-game win streak, the Panthers have outscored their opponents, 24-7.

Florida's defensemen rank second in the NHL in goals, and that unit had 10 points on Thursday -- a franchise record. Two Panthers defensemen have set career highs in points: Brandon Montour (71) and Gustav Forsling (41).

Matthew Tkachuk leads the team with a career-high 105 points. He leads the squad with 66 assists, and his 39 goals are second only to Carter Verhaeghe (40).

Tkachuk also gives the Panthers a toughness they lacked last season.

Meanwhile, for the first time since 2014, the Capitals (34-35-9, 77 points) will be sitting out the playoffs.

The Capitals have not won a playoff series since they won the Stanley Cup in 2018.

With Thursday's 6-2 loss at the Montreal Canadiens, the Capitals enter Saturday on a five-game losing streak.

"We were too loose again," said coach Peter Laviolette offered. "We weren't good enough defensively."

But they still have superstar winger Alex Ovechkin, who leads the team in goals (42) and points (74). Not counting the COVID-19 season, this is his fifth straight season of 40-plus goals. He's done it 13 times in his career.

Dylan Strome is second on the Capitals in goals (20) and points (60), and Evgeny Kuznetsov tops the squad in assists (42).

The Capitals, who are 17-15-6 at home this season, will now try to play spoilers. The Panthers are just 18-19-3 on the road.