Aleksander Barkov scored his 100th NHL goal and Jared McCann got the go-ahead score with 5:37 left in the third period as the host Florida Panthers kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.

Barkov, an All-Star this year, scored his 27th goal of the season. However, it was a rough night for the Panthers as two of the three teams they were chasing for the final wild-card playoff berth in the Eastern Conference clinched postseason berths -- the New Jersey Devils and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Panthers would be eliminated if they fail to win either of their two remaining regular-season games or if the Philadelphia Flyers pick up at least one point on Saturday against the New York Rangers.

Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo, playing his 1,000th NHL game, made 26 saves and earned the win. It was his 18th victory of the season and his third in the past four days.

Former Bruins forward Frank Vatrano, acquired by the Panthers just before this year's trade deadline, also scored for Florida.

Ryan Donato and Danton Heinen scored for Boston, and Brad Marchand, who played his 600th game, was among the Bruins who earned an assist. Tuukka Rask made 31 saves for the Bruins, who have already clinched a playoff berth.

Florida opened the scoring with 7:42 gone in the first period. Evgenii Dadonov threated a perfect pass to Barkov, who tapped it in. The puck skipped right past Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara on the way to Barkov.

Less than two minutes later, Florida victimized Chara again. Nick Bjugstad and Vatrano stripped Chara of the puck behind the Boston net. Vatrano ended up with the puck, spun around and scored on Rask on his second attempt.

Boston cut its deficit to 2-1 with 15:19 expired in the first period. After a penalty on Panthers defenseman Mike Matheson for holding David Krejci, Donato scored on a rebound off a Marchand shot.

The Bruins tied the score just 2:11 into the second period. After a Matheson turnover, Krejci dished to Heinen for the goal.

--Field Level Media