Forget Sam Bennett. The Maple Leafs should chase Brad Marchand in free agency — with a unique selling point
It's hard to believe the Florida Panthers could have taken their game to another level in the Stanley Cup playoffs after winning it all last season, but that's exactly what they've done.
Florida has looked unstoppable at times throughout this post-season. What was expected to be a nail-biting first-round series against the rival Tampa Bay Lightning turned into a relatively stress-free five games. They came from behind in the second round to embarrass the Maple Leafs in Game 7 before cruising past the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final.
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National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
Pacers, like Panthers, might have big regrets about blowing Game 4 of finals
Just like the Florida Panthers, the Indiana Pacers might end up deeply regretting wasting a chance to take a stranglehold on a championship series. Article content If the Edmonton Oilers or Oklahoma City Thunder eventually win it all, the Panthers and Pacers will long be thinking about the one that got away. Article content Article content While Indiana was never as comfortably ahead Friday as Florida was in its Game 4 (up 3-0 after a period), only leading by as many as 10 points in the game, they had the double digit edge late in the third quarter and should have beaten a Thunder team playing nowhere close to its regular level. Article content Oklahoma City only hit three three-pointers, handed out just 11 assists — both season-lows — their bench got outscored and their decision to go back to the double-big man starting lineup failed early, plus Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was again being hounded and hadn't dominated and the crowd in Indianapolis was going berserk. And yet, the Thunder, the NBA's best team this year proved it once again, rallying to regain control of what has been a damn good NBA Finals so far. Article content We've seen the Pacers pull off one of the biggest late shockers ever in Game 1; The Thunder respond by looking like a well-oiled machine; Indiana showing they belonged here too with a tremendous Game 3 and then Friday OKC sent the message once again that while they might bend, it's hard to break them. Article content In the West semifinal against Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets, the Thunder lost the opener at home by two points. Article content Article content Article content They then fell behind again with an overtime loss, only to win two straight. Article content And when the Nuggets rallied to force Game 7, with Gilgeous-Alexander looking out of gas, Oklahoma City cruised to a decisive victory. Article content They don't seem to get rattled and always maintain belief in their capabilities, even if things aren't working. Article content Williams and Alex Caruso consistently kept the Thunder within range of the Pacers when nothing else was working. He got into the paint at will and got to the line (11 attempts, a new high), while playing with an aggressiveness and purpose that few others on the court matched. Article content Williams made All-NBA for a reason, but he's still one of the more underrated second-level stars in the league. Without his 12 points in the first Game 4 might have been an early rout. And he just kept coming.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Panthers visit the Oilers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final with the series tied
Florida Panthers right wing Mackie Samoskevich (25) defends Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues (17) as goaltender Calvin Pickard (30) deflects a shot on goal during the third period of Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final Friday, June 13, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) Leon Draisaitl scoring in overtime to tie the Stanley Cup Final for the Edmonton Oilers ensured the series against the Florida Panthers cannot be decided in Game 5 on Saturday night. Hockey's hallowed trophy will not yet be in the building. But it is guaranteed to be on Tuesday night back in Sunrise, making Game 5 another pivotal swing point in the NHL's championship series rematch. 'The team that can move on fastest is going to be have the best chance,' Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk said. 'The team that moves on from this and team that recovers the fastest is going to have the bigger advantage.' The coaches involved, Florida's Paul Maurice and Edmonton's Kris Knoblauch, don't believe much in game-to-game momentum, and that theory has played out so far. Draisaitl and Brad Marchand traded OT heroics in the first two, the Panthers won the next in a rout, and took a three-goal lead in Game 4 before the Oilers erased it and got another from Draisaitl to even things up. The Oilers are favored to go up 3-2 and are slightly favored to win it all, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. The Panthers have won 10 of the 11 playoff series they have been in over the past three years, including a year ago beating Edmonton in seven games in the final. This has been different but still feels like it could go the distance. 'It's two good teams, and they're equally matched and you're going to get some good hockey,' said 40-year-old Oilers winger Corey Perry, whose first intermission speech helped spark their Game 4 comeback. 'There are some superstars on both sides of the puck. It's fun to be a part of.'
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
The ties that bind: The WNBA's Fever and NBA's Pacers are more than just neighbors in Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark is doubly disappointed about how the NBA Finals are going right now. One, the Indiana Pacers lost Game 4. Two, Clark can't be there for Game 6. Clark and the Indiana Fever have a good reason for why they won't be at the Pacers' last home game of the season on Thursday, when Indiana — which will be either up 3-2 or down 3-2 to the Oklahoma City Thunder by then, depending how Game 5 on Monday goes — plays host to Game 6 of the NBA Finals. The Fever will be at Golden State that night, playing the expansion Valkyries. 'I was hoping they'd win it in five,' Clark said. That can't happen now. But somehow, some way, the Fever will be paying some sort of attention to what's going on at home Thursday night. The Pacers and Fever aren't just neighbors. They're basically basketball family. They have the same ownership, play their games in the same building, cross paths with the other all the time. And they rave about one another, with players from one team almost always cheering on the other. 'I think young kids, if you watch basketball, you turn on and watch the Pacers,' Clark said. 'It's unselfish. They play for each other. They play fast. They play up-tempo. They do things the right way. Whether you're a starter or whether you're coming off the bench, you're giving everything you can to your team. It's really fun to watch.' Much has been made of how this is a special time for basketball in basketball-mad Indianapolis, and the Pacers and Fever are both reveling in it. The Pacers played host to the 2024 NBA All-Star Game and went to the Eastern Conference finals last season. The Fever flipped how many people think about the WNBA last season in Clark's rookie year, with swarms flocking to their games — home and away — to see the former Iowa star play. There's the NBA Finals going on now. The WNBA All-Star Game is coming to Indy this summer, and it's not hard to envision Clark and the Fever making a deep playoff run of their own this year. 'She's an incredible player, someone that I have a ton of respect for, also a good person,' Pacers guard T.J. McConnell said. 'I've been following her career, especially when she got drafted by the Fever. We all are happy to have her in Indy. It's been fun to watch.' Clark and Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton are close friends, and that's just one of the many real and deep ties between the franchises. It's not a big deal to see Pacers players at Fever games; it always happens. It's not a big deal to see Fever players at Pacers games; they're always there, too. 'It's been amazing watching the Pacers,' Fever guard Sophie Cunningham said. 'They're so much fun to watch. I think we resemble their team quite a bit in the way we move the ball and the way we're trying to play.' Fever coach Stephanie White played her high school and college basketball in the state of Indiana, then spent the bulk of her WNBA playing career with the Fever. Nobody needs to explain to her what the game means in the state. 'I was here the last time the Pacers were in the finals, back in 2000,' White said. 'I remember being in the building and just feeling all that energy. It's exciting. There's no better place, the epicenter of basketball in Indiana and Indianapolis.' She sees some parallels between how the Pacers built a contender and how the Fever are trying to become one again. 'The way that they've built and rebuilt with the roster, the patience that they've shown in the roster and in roster movement, the adversity that they faced early in the year,' White said. 'They were this fast, exciting offensive team a year ago to being a solid defensive team that has won regular-season games and playoff games for them when the offense wasn't really flowing.' Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Soon, the Fever will be the only game in town again. The NBA season is nearly over. There are either two or three games left. And then, the Pacers will take their seats in the crowd to watch the Fever for the next few weeks. Clark made it clear: The teams really do get a benefit from being around the other. 'More than anything they're just really good people,' Clark said. 'They're good guys. So, I've been really fortunate to be here during this time.' ___ AP NBA:
