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Probably the hardest thing to do if you're a Florida Panthers' player nowadays, is to sit and watch and spend the next five days waiting for a chance to play again — and knowing that in the meantime, your fate is out of your own hands.

For anybody following the Eastern Conference standings from the bottom up, all of sudden the Panthers — on the heels of seven consecutive wins, which ties a franchise record — are in the playoff mix again.

The best thing that they've got going for them is the team that they need to reel in — the Philadelphia Flyers — look to be in complete disarray, a 7-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins magnifying a slump that they've been in for a while now and officially stands at four losses in a row.

The problem is that the Panthers are not alone in thinking that the Flyers' position — eighth and sinking fast — make them vulnerable. Suddenly, the Buffalo Sabres and the Washington Capitals are also making a push. Even if the Flyers continue to sink in the East, the Panthers need to win their own games and also keep their fingers crossed that the Sabres and Capitals hit a couple more bumps in the road.

It remains a daunting task and about the only good news is that the Panthers are at least in a position to do something about it, as opposed to the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders and Atlanta Thrashers, all of whom have played themselves out of the chase.

"If we don't make the playoffs, even from my point of view, it will feel like a failure," goaltender Tomas Vokoun ventured Monday, on an NHL conference call. "But you don't think those kinds of things during the process of the season. I'm focusing on next game and that's Carolina. Obviously, I want to get into the playoffs and everybody here wants to do that too and this franchise needs it, so …

"We've worked hard to get into the position to have a chance. It would be very bad if we wasted it."

Vokoun did his share last week, backstopping the Panthers to three victories and posting a1.67 goals-against average and .946 save percentage. That earned him the NHL's third star of the week award. Florida has surrendered only nine goals in seven games in March — Craig Anderson was in goal for back-to-back shutouts during that stretch — which gave Vokoun a much needed breather.

In his first season with Florida after a trade with the Nashville Predators, Vokoun has thoroughly respectable numbers, but mostly, he's given them a chance in goal, the way Roberto Luongo once did. Vokoun cost them a small fortune in draft choices — a second-round pick last year; their first two selections in the upcoming draft — but it'll be deemed worth it if they make the playoffs. In a Jacques Martin system, front-line goaltending is paramount, something the Panthers didn't get it last year from their primary tandem, Ed Belfour and Alex Auld.

Arguably, no one needs to secure a playoff berth more than the Panthers, who are tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the longest post-season drought at six years and counting. No one can say for certain, but if Florida misses again, there could be wholesale changes next season, as the patience of the organization holds in the team's current inner circle starts to wear thin.

The Panthers ultimately stayed the course at the trading deadline, refusing to part with their captain, Olli Jokinen, even though there were some nibbles for his services. Jokinen has scored the game-winner in each of the last two victories; and he seems to be playing better again. How much of that is surviving the trade deadline; and how much is putting the Richard Zednik incident behind him, is difficult to quantify. But the Panthers are like a lot of mid-level teams on the cusp of playoff contention, relying on their goaltender and top scorer to lead the way, defensively and offensively, just to be competitive.

Understandably, the Panthers are doing a fair bit of scoreboard watching these days — and they probably weren't happy to see Philadelphia and Boston go to overtime Saturday, which earned the Flyers a single point in defeat, and the Bruins two for the overtime win. Boston sneaked out another point in their OT loss to Washington Sunday, meaning they are now five points clear of the Panthers. Even though they're sinking too, there may not be enough games left for Florida to close the gap on the Bruins.

The Flyers, meanwhile, represent a more manageable challenge. While Florida finishes with eight games against Southeast Conference opponents, only one of which is in a playoff position right now, the Flyers must contend with only Atlantic Division opponents, three of which (Pittsburgh, the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers) are in the mix for a post-season spot.

Two of Philadelphia's final three games are against the Penguins' team that routed them Sunday. So if others can help take care of Philadelphia, then the Panthers get two more cracks at the Capitals, including an Apr. 5 regular-season finale that could decide the final playoff spot. And wouldn't a finish like that get them harboring thoughts of the miracle 1995-96 playoff, when they parleyed an unexpected playoff berth into a spot in the Stanley Cup final. First things first though.

"Obviously, we need help some somebody" said Vokoun. "If everybody would keep winning, there's no way you can catch them."