Daniil Tarasov helps keep the Florida Panthers alive in the East playoff chase

The Panthers do not always give Daniil Tarasov a big cushion, but he keeps giving them something better, belief.

In Winnipeg, Florida won 2-1 in the shootout, in a game that felt like playoff hockey from the first hard stop.

Tarasov was steady all night, stopping 17 shots and then both attempts he faced in the shootout.

It was not a highlight reel workload, it was a focus test, long quiet stretches, then sudden danger in the slot.

Those are the games where a backup can drift, or he can lock in and make the one save that keeps everything alive.

Paul Maurice basically framed it that way after, pointing to a third period back door stop on Mark Scheifele as the swing moment.

That save mattered because it kept the score level, kept Florida from chasing, and bought them overtime.

The Panthers helped too, playing a heavy, careful road game that kept the middle tight and forced Winnipeg to earn every look.

You could feel Tarasov simplify as the night went on, fewer loose rebounds, fewer extra touches, more absorbs and freezes.

That calm is becoming his calling card in Florida, even when the offense is not exactly throwing a party in front of him.

This season he sits at a 2.76 goals against average with a .905 save percentage, numbers that scream stable when the schedule gets tight.

Florida only got one goal in regulation, Sam Bennett on a set play, and that meant Tarasov had to stay perfect mentally after the tie.

Then came the shootout, no panic, no extra movement, no goals against, just clean reads and a quiet finish.

If the Panthers are going to live through every other day hockey, they will need this exact version of Tarasov again and again.