Panthers win team-record 8th straight in front of sellout crowd

Life is good for the Florida Panthers.

Coming off their best month in franchise history, and playing hours after contract extensions were given to both general manager Dale Tallon and head coach Gerard Gallant, the Panthers kicked off 2016 by shutting out the New York Rangers 3-0 in front of a huge and exuberant audience at the BB&T Center.

The win marked Florida's eighth in a row, setting a new franchise record for consecutive victories.

With the victory, the Panthers regained the lead in the Atlantic Division, leapfrogging the idle Montreal Canadiens with two games still in hand. If things keep going the way they have, the Panthers could be in line to win their first playoff series since 1996, although they're not looking that far ahead at this point.

"We're a long way from that, but it's a lot of fun," said Gallant, according to George Richards of the Miami Herald. "The crowds are into the game, the team is playing very well ... It's awesome, couldn't go any better for us right now. We just have to keep playing. We have to do it every night."

Roberto Luongo made 39 saves for his third shutout of the season, while the offense was provided by Logan Shaw, Vincent Trocheck, and Brandon Pirri.

Meanwhile, budding franchise center Aleksander Barkov is believed to be in talks with management regarding a long-term contract extension.