Drought Ends in Florida

Just a short one for tonight.  The Florida Panthers beat my New Jersey Devils in Game 2 of their first round playoff series to even the series at 1-1.  It is the first win for the Florida Panthers in a post-season game since 1997, ending the longest active drought in the NHL without a win.  The longest active drought of being win-less in the NHL playoffs has now fallen to the Winnipeg Jets who prior to this season were the Atlanta Thrashers.  As the Atlanta Thrashers, they only made one post-season appearance (2007), and were prompting swept in four games by the New York Rangers.  The Thrashers only came into the NHL for the 1999-00 season, so their drought dates back to then.

Right behind the Jets are the Columbus Blue Jackets who only entered the NHL in 2000-01, and like the Thrashers were swept in their only playoff appearance by the Detroit Red Wings.  The Jets and Blue Jackets are the only two current franchises to never win a playoff game or playoff series.

Ignoring these two expansion teams, the next longest active drought belongs to the Toronto Maple Leafs.  The Maple Leafs have not won a playoff game since Game 4 of the 2004 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.  Since then, Toronto has never reached the playoffs again nor have they posted a winning record.

Kudos to the Panthers for ending their drought, but now this Devils fan would most appreciate you lying down for the rest of the series so New Jersey may advance.