Dynamic duo's return puts Panthers back on playoff prowl

The Florida Panthers finally have two of their best players back, and it might just be enough to save their season.

Jonathan Huberdeau scored the eventual game-winner in his 2016-17 debut Friday night to beat the Anaheim Ducks after missing more than 50 games with a leg injury, while Aleksander Barkov set up the goal in his first appearance of the calendar year.

It was the Panthers' third straight victory in what's been a turbulent campaign in Sunrise. Gerard Gallant was fired in late November, and things have actually been worse under interim head coach and general manager Tom Rowe, even including this latest run.

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The Panthers are 12-10-9 since Rowe stepped behind the bench, or seven games under .500 for those who value true wins and losses. They were 11-10-1 in 22 games before Gallant was dismissed.

But, despite a failure to pick up where they left off last season, the Panthers are alive in the wide-open Eastern Conference.

The team sits two points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the second wild-card spot, and while they have the worst goal differential among East playoff contenders, the Panthers are only two points back of the Boston Bruins for third in the Atlantic with a pair of games in hand.

Those postseason aspirations will only be further bolstered by the returns of two of their most productive offensive players.

The 23-year-old Huberdeau notched 20 goals and 59 points last season, ranking third on the team in the latter category. Barkov, 21, led the club with 28 goals in 2015-16 and has 28 points in 37 games this season.

Florida is in dire need of scoring, meanwhile, ranking fifth-worst in the NHL with 2.33 goals per game.

Huberdeau and Barkov will obviously help the Panthers improve in that area, and the offensive boost might be enough to catapult them back into the playoff picture.