The Carolina Hurricanes had a chance to clinch the Southeast Division title. Instead, their loss relegated them to scoreboard watching this weekend, and enabled Philadelphia and Ottawa to secure playoff berths.

Nathan Horton and Radek Dvorak each had a goal and an assist and Florida got its first road victory against Carolina since 2002 with a 4-3 win Friday night. Jay Bouwmeester and Steve Montador scored in an 88-second span of the first period for the Panthers, who had lost 13 straight on the Hurricanes' home ice.

Carolina had a five-point division lead with six games left, but lost three of its last four. The Hurricanes would have clinched the division with a victory in their regular-season finale. Now, they need Florida to beat Washington in regulation Saturday night. If the Capitals win or merely go to overtime, they will take the division title and the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot.

The Senators, who lost 2-1 at home to Boston, and the Flyers, who beat New Jersey 3-0, both clinched postseason spots thanks to the Hurricanes' loss. The Bruins also got in with their win.

Eric Staal, Sergei Samsonov and Trevor Letowski each scored for the Hurricanes, who outshot Florida 46-17 and were penalty-free while the Panthers were whistled for nine.

At Ottawa, Tim Thomas came within 8:14 of recording his third straight shutout against the Senators and Zdeno Chara scored against his former team. Phil Kessel also scored for the Bruins, who drew even with Ottawa for sixth overall in the Eastern Conference with 94 points.

The Senators can finish anywhere from sixth to eighth, and will open the playoffs on the road against either Pittsburgh, Montreal, Carolina or Washington.

The Bruins, who close the regular season Saturday night against Buffalo, can finish as high as fifth or as low as eighth, and could open the first round on the road against any playoff team in the East other than Ottawa or Philadelphia.

At Philadelphia, Martin Biron stopped all 22 shots for his 22nd career shutout, fourth this season, to lead the Flyers.

"I don't think I've ever seen a team play a better game that was so crucial," said chairman Ed Snider, who founded the Flyers.