"I Just Can't Wait to Be King" from "The Lion King" was heard blasting from the Florida Panthers' locker room Wednesday night, according to team beat reporter Jameson Olive, and for good reason.

In just his seventh start this season, goaltender Alex Lyon made 38 saves during the Panthers' crucial 3-2 overtime victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, which helped them gain ground in the wild-card race while snapping a four-game skid.

"He gave us every chance to win the game. He stopped the penalty shot, a huge couple of saves in overtime, and throughout the whole game," captain Aleksander Barkov said postgame, according to Bally Sports Florida.

"He's the type of guy who brings the joy into the locker room and on the ice. You want to play good in front of him. I still think we could have done a little better job in front of him, but he didn't need that today."

Lyon, 30, saved 0.95 goals above expected at all strengths, per Natural Stat Trick, and few were as important as the stop he made on Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews in the extra frame.

Lyon said a study session with fellow Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky - who missed the contest due to illness - helped that play come to fruition.

"(Matthews) scored on (Bobrovsky) in Florida like that last week," Lyon said, according to Olive. "We talked about that a lot, how he's so good at moving to the net-front quickly."

Lyon wasn't the only member of the Panthers to grab a share of the spotlight Wednesday. Head coach Paul Maurice raised some eyebrows when he directed an expletive-filled tirade at his bench in the second period shortly before the Maple Leafs had a goal disallowed.

"I was just where I was at," Maurice said, per Bally Sports Florida. "If I could have yelled louder, if I could have found a f-----g way to be more profane than I was, I would have.

"I'm not gifted enough, I needed to channel my father, who is a gifted curser."

The victory drew the Panthers within one point of the Penguins for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, though Pittsburgh has a game in hand.

Lyon made it clear that the Panthers believe in themselves with just seven games remaining.

"We all know what the standings look like," he said, according to Olive. "What've (we) got to lose? ... This is what you play the game for."

Florida will face the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

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The New York Rangers have signed forward Filip Chytil to a four-year contract extension, the team announced Wednesday.

The deal carries a cap hit of $4.43 million, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen, and kicks in for the 2023-24 campaign. Chytil's current contract is a two-year bridge pact worth $2.3 million per season.

The 23-year-old is in the midst of a career year with 22 goals and 42 points through 66 games. He averages 14:34 per contest centering the Rangers' "Kid Line," which features Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko on the flanks.

New York's top two centers, Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck, are under contract until 2030 and 2029, respectively.

The Rangers are currently third in the Metropolitan Division with 98 points and clinched a playoff berth on Monday. Last season, the Blueshirts reached the Eastern Conference Final.

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The next time you watch the Boston Bruins, fix your eyes on No. 37 and don't look away for the entire shift. Take a few mental notes. Then do the same thing when Patrice Bergeron hops over the boards again, and for a third time.

By the end of the third shift, you'll start to see the patterns of a hockey genius.

The Bruins captain will probably win a faceoff cleanly, and for the following 40 seconds, he'll stay within a few feet of the puck, never cheating for offense or defense. He won't be overbearing to teammates or suffocating to opponents; he'll just be nearby, lurking from the perfect spot. If Boston has the puck, he's a safety valve, and if the opposition has possession, he's a disruptive force.

As I discussed during the home stretch last season, Bergeron earns Selke Trophy votes through thousands of subtly smart plays. And the 2022-23 campaign, Bergeron's 19th in the NHL, has been no different. At 37, he remains a textbook 200-foot center and a front-runner for the award that honors "the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game."

Bergeron's finished first, second, or third in voting in a staggering 11 straight seasons, claiming the trophy a record five times. He's arguably the greatest defensive forward ever, and until his play tapers off or he retires, the Selke is his to lose.

Yet voters don't blindly select Bergeron. It's a deep field this year, with Jordan Staal, Mikael Backlund, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Elias Pettersson among the dozen or so forwards vying for downballot votes.

Using data from Sportlogiq and Evolving Hockey, let's assess how three of them - Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers, and Nico Hischier of the New Jersey Devils - stack up against Bergeron. (All tracking statistics current through Monday's games.)

The Marner conversation

What's helping Marner's case: Marner leads the league in takeaways, with 97 in 73 games. Like a grandmaster chess player, he's elite at anticipating his opponent's next move. He takes efficient routes and won't be outhustled.

Marner, who's armed with remarkable hand-eye coordination, ranks second among everyday NHL forwards in blocked passes per game. He regularly knocks down clearing attempts and intercepts stretch passes before quickly turning the change of possession into a grade-A scoring chance for the Leafs.

Marner is both an offensive dynamo (28 goals and 66 assists for 94 points) and a workhorse (21:19 a night, including 2:20 on the penalty kill). He has Bergeron beat in both areas (57 points in 73 games; 17:36 and 1:46). And while the Selke is by definition reserved for defensive studs, there's logic in the old "the best defense is a good offense" argument. A strong two-way impact should be seen as a boon to - not a drag on - Marner's case.

What's hurting Marner's case: Centers have owned the Selke during the salary-cap era. In fact, 2002-03 was the last time a winger won (Jere Lehtinen). While it'd be nice to break the drought - Mark Stone has come close - the trend is grounded in reason: Wingers generally have it easier than centers on the defensive side of the puck. They don't help out as much deep in the zone or take faceoffs - two areas in which Bergeron absolutely crushes.

Bergeron's Bruins also boast the NHL's top penalty-killing percentage while the Leafs sit 14th. Quality of teammates is a major factor with a stat like PK%, and Boston has better personnel, but the 13-team gap is worth mentioning.

Meanwhile, Bergeron ranks second in goals against per 60 minutes among the 349 forwards who've logged 500 five-on-five minutes or more this season. His ludicrous rate of 1.31 trails only Stefan Noesen, a Carolina Hurricanes forward who's faced significantly weaker competition. Marner's tied with Jordan Staal for 90th, at 2.18 goals against per 60. Very good, but not Bergeron great.

The Barkov conversation

What's helping Barkov's case: For voters who fancy a pure defensive artist, Barkov would be a tantalizing candidate. Among everyday NHL forwards, he ranks first in puck-battle wins per game, second in stick checks per game, third in loose-puck recoveries per game, and fourth in blocked passes per game. What else could Panthers head coach Paul Maurice ask for?

Barkov, the 2020-21 Selke winner, plays a ton (21:15 overall, 2:04 shorthanded) and alongside less talented teammates than the others we're considering here. His two most common linemates at five-on-five this year have been Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe, while Gustav Forsling and Brandon Montour have been the defensemen who most often share the ice.

Bergeron's crew, by comparison, consists of Brad Marchand, Jake DeBrusk, Hampus Lindholm, and Charlie McAvoy. All but DeBrusk are star-caliber players.

What's hurting Barkov's case: Barkov's tracking stats are extremely impressive. But Bergeron ranks fairly high on various lists too - fifth in puck-battle wins, sixth in blocked passes, 16th in stick checks, and 49th in loose-puck recoveries. Barkov's edges in those categories aren't definitive.

Barkov's shot-based statistics - five-on-five shot attempts against, expected goals against, shots on goal against - grade out at 18th, 118th, and 134th out of 349 qualified forwards. While some of that is linked to Florida's middling five-on-five numbers, the low ranks still sour Barkov's Selke resume. Another thing: Barkov's appeared in only 60 games this year. Missing 14 games isn't cause for exclusion from the discussion, but it diminishes the body of work.

Lastly, a note on the quality of Barkov's opponents. Sportlogiq calculates a "strength of opposition" metric, which is the cumulative average of offense-generating plays by opposing forward lines. The higher the average, the more difficult the defensive assignment. Barkov, with a strength of opposition rating of 22.9, is 215th among everyday forwards. Bergeron, with a 24.5 rating, is fifth.

The Hischier conversation

What's helping Hischier's case: If Marner's the takeaway king and Barkov's the tracking-data wizard, Hischier's the do-everything, all-around guy. The Swiss center doesn't have a discernible weakness, posting good-to-excellent numbers in virtually every relevant defensive category, from expected goals against and faceoff win percentage to puck-battle wins and takeaways.

Penalty differential is an interesting separator, though. This season, Hischier's been assessed only four minor penalties but drawn 25 penalties for the league's third-best differential. This type of discipline isn't typically associated with strong defensive play or the Selke, but maybe it should be. Power plays are so lethal in the modern NHL that every man-advantage opportunity is valuable.

Something else that can't be discounted: Hischier is the defensive conscience of an upstart Devils team, leading the forward group in shorthanded ice time (New Jersey has the seventh-best PK%). In many ways, he's the yin to Jack Hughes' yang.

What's hurting Hischier's case: Awkwardly, what helps Hischier is also what hurts him. Bergeron is a do-everything, all-around guy like Hischier, except the Bruin gets better results. Take the faceoff circle: Hischier has won 53.6% of all draws, tying him for 30th in the league, and he's even better in the defensive zone, tying for ninth at 57.8%. Bergeron's 60.6% overall rate (third) and 61.3% D-zone rate (fifth) make Hischier's strong work appear, well, less stellar.

Hischier's versatility could certainly earn him a finalist nod. But, like Marner and Barkov, he cannot match the layers of Bergeron's dominance. Not only does Bergeron have a materially better goals against per 60 rate at five-on-five - a clear indicator of defensive prowess - but his strength of opposition is far higher than Hischier's (23.1 rating, 165th among everyday forwards).

Bergeron has been competing against the best of the best every shift this season, and still, his results are undeniably Selke-worthy. Even at 37, the man is essentially peerless.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

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Aaron Ekblad doesn't seem ready to forgive Brooks Koepka for chirping him mercilessly last weekend.

"We're not buddies," the Florida Panthers defenseman said Wednesday, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "(We'll) never be buddies."

The former top-ranked golfer in the world and current LIV member used an insulting prop at the Panthers' game against the New York Rangers on Saturday.

In case there was any doubt it was Kopeka, he was at the game with some friends and they were all wearing track suits as an apparent nod to Italianfest, the evening's theme.

Koepka later explained his behavior.

"I did not bring the cone," he said, according to GolfWRX's Matt Vincenzi. "He gave up a bad goal. It was a bad pass in the third. I'm a die-hard (Panthers) fan, and he gave up a bad goal."

Koepka grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida, and lives in Jupiter, which is about an hour's drive from FLA Live Arena in Sunrise. He's attended several Panthers games this season. The 32-year-old is in the area for the LIV tournament that will run from Friday through Sunday in Orlando.

Ekblad isn't having his best season for the underachieving Cats, who are in danger of missing the playoffs one season after winning the Presidents' Trophy. The 27-year-old ranks 20th-worst in the NHL with 2.9 expected goals against per 60 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick. He also entered Wednesday with 31 points in 63 games, his lowest per-game rate since 2018-19.

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The Ottawa Senators are down another marquee blue-liner.

Head coach D.J. Smith announced Wednesday that stalwart defenseman Thomas Chabot is "likely out a couple weeks" with an upper-body injury, according to TSN.

If Chabot is out exactly two weeks, he'd only be able to return for the final game of the regular season on April 13 against the Buffalo Sabres.

The Senators are already without prized trade deadline acquisition Jakob Chychrun, who was ruled out for a couple of weeks on Saturday due to a lower-body issue.

In the meantime, defense prospect Tyler Kleven, who just turned pro last week, will make his NHL debut Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Ottawa used the following defense pairs during Wednesday's practice:

Chabot leads all Senators skaters in ice time (24:58 per game) and paces the club's defense with 41 points in 68 games.

The Senators are five points out of a playoff spot with eight games remaining. They own a 2.3% chance of making the postseason for the first time since 2017, according to MoneyPuck.

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Rick Bowness didn't name names, but the Winnipeg Jets head coach criticized more than one of his players after the lowly San Jose Sharks shut them out Tuesday night.

"The inconsistencies of some of our players is hurting us," Bowness said following the 3-0 defeat. "If some of these guys think they're giving everything in their tank, they're dreaming. We've got a lot of guys in there giving us everything they can, and we just need a few more guys to jump on board."

The Jets are clinging to the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with the Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames in hot pursuit. The Predators sit three points back with two games in hand, while the Flames trail the Jets by two points and have played the same number of games.

Tuesday's result is the second time Winnipeg lost to San Jose this month, falling to the Sharks in overtime on March 6. The last-place club in the Pacific Division has only two wins in its last 16 games, but both came over the Jets.

The Central Division's lone Canadian squad outshot San Jose 41-30 Tuesday. The Jets also dominated in scoring chances for (64.06%) and expected goals for (59.9%) at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.

"There comes a point where their personal pride has to take over," Bowness added postgame. "If someone has to go in there and point that out to them, then there's a big problem right there."

Winnipeg is 5-5-0 over its last 10 games and has only seven left in this regular season.

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