The Florida Panthers’ latest win over the Carolina Hurricanes to go up 3-0 within the NHL Eastern Conference Finals places them in lockstep with the state of affairs that transpired 40 miles south at Kaseya Center, the place the Miami Heat mounted a three-game lead over the Boston Celtics this week earlier than the Beantown rival bounced again with a win.
From the seems to be of the South Florida groups’ social media posts, which characteristic gamers from one residence staff sporting swag from the opposite, there’s a sense that they are feeding off one another’s momentum.
The Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk lately confirmed as a lot, saying the Heat’s captain Jimmy Butler — and the similarities between the 2 staff’s unlikely playoff runs — have added gasoline to the fireplace for the Panthers.
Tkachuk has emerged because the Panthers’ clutch participant, Jimmy Butler on ice, if you’ll. He scored two game-winning time beyond regulation objectives to kick off the collection in opposition to the Hurricanes, inking his identify within the hockey historical past books because the star of one of many longest-ever NHL video games.
“[The Heat] are just like the underdogs and going into every collection, and type of simply believing of their staff,” Tkachuk informed the Miami Herald. “I really like watching Jimmy Butler play, particularly extra being down in Florida, seeing him greater than I ever have. I’m very impressed with him. He’s a gamer. He’s fairly dialed in with what he’s accomplished these playoffs.”
Having two residence groups concurrently battling for a title could be loopy sufficient. Having it occur in a 12 months wherein each snuck into the playoffs by the pores and skin of their enamel, as eight-seeds, is a monumental growth.
So Buckle up, South Florida. The Miami Heat and Florida Panthers are title-hunting.
Panthers Clawing for Stanley Cup
The Florida Panthers are eyeing a clear sweep of the Carolina Panthers Wednesday evening, May 24, in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise.
For a staff that has been taking part in for its life for months now and was the ultimate staff to slide into the playoffs, the Panthers have been an unexpectedly dominant drive within the convention finals. It’s probably the most outstanding playoff feats South Florida sports activities followers have seen since, properly, earlier this week when the Miami Heat did almost the identical.
Still on their residence ice for tonight’s matchup, the Panthers need to capitalize on a Game 3 win wherein Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 32 photographs for his first profession playoff shutout, and Sam Reinhart slapped in a power-play aim, transferring the Florida Panthers one win shy of their second-ever journey to the Stanley Cup Final.
With staff captain Sasha Barkov out for all however the first seven minutes of the sport as a consequence of a lower-leg damage, the main focus all evening lengthy for the Panthers was combating off offensive bursts from the Hurricanes whereas selecting the rights spots to capitalize.
LFG @FlaPanthers! 3-0 collection lead! pic.twitter.com/L56lnf6Wft
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) May 23, 2023
Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky informed reporters the staff is using excessive, however there’s nonetheless work to be accomplished.
“We’re proud of the ‘W.’ We’re proud of the win, however the subsequent recreation goes to be an enormous recreation,” Bobrovsky stated.
According to the AP, the Panthers’ 3-0 lead is the 205th time an NHL staff has taken a 3-0 lead within the NHL Playoffs, and 200 of these groups have moved on to the following spherical.
That’s all to say the Panthers must fall prey to a significant meltdown to drop the collection at this level.
The Last One’s the Hardest
The Celtics confirmed indicators of life in Game 4, battling again from an early deficit on the Heat’s residence court docket.
After the Heat led for a lot of the sport, the Celtics went on an 18-0 run within the second half and pulled away with a 116-99 win to place the collection at 3-1.
“We all the time say the final one to get is the toughest,” stated the Heat’s Bam Adebayo.
The groups will head again to Boston to do battle at TD Garden for Game 5 on Thursday, May 25.
The Heat have historical past on their aspect: No staff has ever come again to win a seven-game NBA playoff collection after falling again 3-0 because the Celtics did.
In the postgame convention, Butler shrugged off a query about whether or not the Celtics’ stay-alive win would construct momentum for the Heat rival.
“At the tip of the day, you fall again in your habits, how constant you are going to be,” Butler stated. “Myself and my teammates, we’re gong to do the identical factor. We’re going to smile, we’ll be on this factor collectively like we all the time are. And we’ll go get one on the street.”