The Florida Panthers briefly limited ticket sales for their series against the Toronto Maple Leafs to fans with US credit cards, a decision that some Leafs fans thought was designed keep them from coming to Games 3 and 4.
The Panthers might be able to keep them from a Game 5 in Toronto, too.
Sam Reinhart on Sunday scored 3 minutes, 2 seconds into overtime and Florida — who had to fight just to squeak into the playoffs, before stunning the Boston Bruins in Round 1 — are on the brink of their first conference finals appearance since 1996.
Photo: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY
The Panthers topped Toronto 3-2, taking a 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semi-final series.
“We’ve had a lot of guys stepping up at big moments,” Reinhart said.
None bigger than he. Reinhart dumped the puck off the boards behind the net to set up his game-winner, then headed behind the goal to take a pass back from Anton Lundell. Reinhart twirled his way to the front, tapped the puck home and just like that, Florida had its first series lead in 27 years.
In Newark, with their season on the line once again, Jack Hughes stepped up for the New Jersey Devils and the budding superstar delivered with his stick, his skates and even a few totally unexpected punches.
Hughes scored two goals, set up two more and had a near fight with Carolina Hurricanes star Sebastian Aho as the Devils began the task of digging out of another hole with an 8-4 win over the Hurricanes in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
“I think we were just focused right from the get go,” said Hughes, who is nominated for this year’s Lady Byng award for sportsmanship. “Up and down the lineup, a lot of compete — a lot of guys winning their battles, a lot of skating. That’s our game.”
What was not Hughes’ game was his second-period dustup with Aho in front of the Carolina net. Hughes picked up the Finnish player and attempted to body slam him to the ice. A couple of punches were attempted with no damage inflicted.
Hughes, who has never had a fighting major, got two minutes for roughing and Aho got four minutes, the extra two because of a cross-check.
“I think that kills his chance for the Lady Byng,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “And really, what was he thinking?”
In Washington, the Seattle Kraken topped the Dallas Stars 7-2 to take a 2-1 series lead in their Western Conference semi-final.
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
RSS