As they march toward securing a berth in next month’s playoffs, the Florida Everblades have undergone a transformation.

It was the new defensive style of play that led the Everblades to a 3-2 shootout victory over the Wheeling Nailers Friday night at Germain Arena.

The Everblades (36-28-4) still need three points to secure a playoff spot. They have a chance to get closer Saturday night when they face off against the Nailers (35-30-3) for the final time in the regular season.

The Blades were led by the defensive pairing of Bobby Raymond and David Fischer.

“I think my quickness helps me a lot. I get to pucks first before the other team can attack,” said Raymond. “Playing with David helps a lot, too.”

Raymond was brought in at the beginning of the year by coach Craig Poss. Despite being undersized at 5-foot-10, the 185-pound Raymond has a knack for finding the puck and blocking shots when on the penalty kill as well as being one of the team’s faster skaters. He leads the team in the plus/minus statistic at a positive 26.

Fischer has the size Raymond lacks to go with a solid plus-13.

“For maybe the last month or two, Bobby and I have been paired together,” said Fischer. “He has good instincts and we work really well together, which I think you can see with our plus/minus.”

Leading 2-1 late in the third period Friday night, the Nailers tied the game with less than a minute to go. After pulling their goaltender to gain the extra man advantage, they beat Blades net minder Mike Zacharias (34 saves), who was making his first start in an Everblades jersey. Following a scoreless overtime period, the Blades won the shootout.

“The overall team effort was really good tonight,” said Poss. “We didn’t give them a lot of scoring chances, and we had a good first period, finally.”