Takeaways from the Panthers' journey to the Eastern Conference finals, early look at matchup with Rangers
Florida has reached the conference finals. What has driven its dominance? And what's the early buzz on their matchup against New York?
Judge and Stanton homer to back effective Cortes as streaking Yankees top White Sox 4-2
— Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton homered, Nestor Cortes won for the first time in 5 1/2 weeks and the New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox 4-2 on Friday night for their fifth straight victory.
Luzardo leads Marlins to third consecutive shutout win, 8-0 over skidding Mets
— Jesús Luzardo and three relievers combined on the Miami Marlins’ third consecutive shutout, an 8-0 win over the New York Mets on Friday night.
José Ramírez's homer in 8th inning leads Guardians to 3-2 win and sends Twins to 4th straight loss
— José Ramírez homered with two outs in the eighth inning, sending the Cleveland Guardians to a 3-2 win on Friday night over the Minnesota Twins in a game featuring the first infield shift violation this season.
Panthers beat Bruins with late game-winner, advance to Eastern Conference final
— Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice considered it a good omen when the fire alarm went off at the team hotel on Friday afternoon, just as he was settling in for a pregame nap.
The Florida Panthers waited out the Boston Bruins in their second round Stanley Cup playoff series.
And patience paid off.
The Panthers and Bruins were knotted 1-1 in Game 6 on Friday until defenseman Gustav Forsling broke the stalemate for Florida with just over ninety seconds left in regulation. Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman let out the juiciest of rebounds he'd love to have to back and Forsling made no mistake punching the Panthers ticket to an Eastern Conference final against New York.
Now that should be a high scoring affair.
How the Panthers got there -- and what to expect from their series with the Rangers -- is here.
Savvy Sergei
Most goaltenders will admit it's better to stay busy. And in this series against Boston, Sergei Bobrovsky decidedly was not. Boston averaged the fewest shots on goal among remaining playoff teams (25 per game), and there were lengthy stretches where Bobrovsky didn't have much to do.
It would be easy to dismiss his contributions to Florida's success by just looking at the numbers then (.896 save percentage, 2.51 goals-against average) but that doesn't tell the whole Bobrovsky tale.
The Panthers got the timely saves from their veteran. He wasn't leaky at the wrong time, despite being underworked. Plus, if you take out the Panthers' 5-1 loss in Game 1, Bobrovsky didn't allow more than two goals in an outing the rest of the way.
Being dialed in at crucial moments is how goaltenders set themselves apart in the playoffs, and that's what Bobrovsky did for Florida throughout the second-round run.
Bolstered by balance
The Panthers tapped in with 12 different goal scorers against the Bruins, with all but three of their forwards landing on the scoresheet with at least one. There was no singular scoring star (although Aleksander Barkov came closest to that moniker, by pacing the group with three) and so Boston had its hands full trying to keep all four lines from running through them.
Florida didn't need it's top skaters to do all the heavy lifting, and that's a critical component at playoff time. Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman was terrific again in this series against a Panthers' group firing the second-most shots on net among remaining playoff teams (36.5 per game), and that's a difficult ask for any goalie to stand up to when they're not offering the sort of goal support Florida does. That's a major reason why the Panthers are moving on -- and Boston's headed home for the season.
No sleeping on special teams
It's the great equalizer, right? Generally, the team who wins that special teams battle comes out on top in a series.
Florida was the unequivocal victor there against Boston.
The Panthers ripped in six power-play goals -- and one shorthanded score -- while the Bruins managed a single goal on the man advantage. The difference that makes in undeniable in the final outcome for both sides. Florida won by larger margins in this series -- including two games by four goals or more -- than they did against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round -- where only two wins were by two goals or more -- but the Lightning matched them on special teams.
When the Bruins fell down in that area, the Panthers pounced all the way to a series win.
Postseason poise
There's something to be said for owning the moment. Florida did just that.
The blowout in Game 1 could have rattled the Panthers and set an ominous tone for the series ahead. Instead, it seemed to settle them down. There's confidence that comes from overcoming early obstacles, and any challenges the Panthers faced from there were met with composure.
Florida wasn't ruined without Sam Bennett in Game 1 and 2, while the Bruins fared worse without Brad Marchand in Game 4 and 5. The Panthers could stay on course when Boston was up 1-0 after the first period in Game 4 and eventually chipped their way back to victory. Yes, there was a controversial goalie interference sequence that factored into Florida's win, but the call was out of their control.
The Panthers focused on what they could do to succeed, and it paid off with a consecutive Eastern Conference finals bid.
How the Panthers match up with the New York Rangers
A conference finals matchup between the Rangers and Panthers could break records for playoff goal scoring.
No, seriously.
Florida and New York are the third and fourth top offenses in the entire playoff field, averaging 3.70 and 3.50 goals per game respectively. Their power plays are excellent (31.4% for New York and 23.7% for Florida) and the Panthers are second in shots on net (34.0 per game) which would only add to the potential firepower these two teams could generate on one sheet.
Matthew Tkachuk (four goals and 13 points in the postseason), Barkov (five goals and 13 points), and Carter Verhaeghe (six goals and 10 points) would give the Rangers' elite a run for their money trading chances though, especially if the rush game opens up.
New York's defense would have to improve over its second-round performance to keep them from running wild. However, the back-and-forth that could come out of this series would highlight what made both Florida and New York so entertaining in their second-round series respectively (although the Rangers stumbled a bit towards the end attempting to close Carolina out).
Another interesting aspect of a Rangers-Panthers series is, of course, in the crease. Sergei Bobrovksy's numbers (.896 SV%, 2.51 GAA) aren't exactly on par with Igor Shesterkin's (.923 SV%, 2.40). But Bobrovsky wasn't tested often by Boston and that, as mentioned above, can affect how a goalie performs.
Regardless, Bobrovsky was terrific when he had to be. Shesterkin has been that and more for the Rangers throughout the playoffs. New York's bread and butter though has been its attack up front plus excellent netminding, and a series against Florida would give them the opportunity to lean on both.
Angels Beat Rangers 9-3 To Give Ron Washington Win In His 1st Game As Visiting Manager In Texas
CLEVELAND -- — José Ramírez homered with two outs in the eighth inning, sending the Cleveland Guardians to a 3-2 win on Friday night over the Minnesota Twins in a game featuring the first infield shift violation this season.
Ramírez connected for his 10th homer on a 2-1 pitch from Jhoan Duran (0-1), driving it into the seats in right field to delight a Progressive Field crowd that came out to see Cleveland's new uniforms and fireworks.
It was the 226th career homer for Ramírez, moving him into a tie for fourth in club history with Hall of Famer Earl Averill. Only Jim Thome (337), Albert Belle (242) and Manny Ramirez (236) have more.
“I am running out of adjectives to describe him,” Guardians first-year manager Stephen Vogt said of his All-Star third baseman. “You have to just kind of smile and laugh sometimes. Like, are you kidding me?
“I keep saying I can’t be shocked at this point, but it’s still just so fun to watch.”
The Twins lost their fourth straight and had several calls go against them, including Duran's first two pitches to Ramírez.
“It’s frustrating for our players when late in the game every meaningful call did go against us," said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. “The guy who hit the home run (Ramírez), he’s hit a lot of big home runs, he’s a great player. But when the first two pitches in the at-bat are strikes and they both get called balls, that’s hard to swallow.”
Tim Herrin (2-0), who allowed the Twins to tie it in the eighth, got the win. Emmanuel Clase worked the ninth for his 13th save.
Guardians starter Triston McKenzie allowed just two hits — one a homer to Alex Kiriloff — in 6 2/3 innings. The right-hander also got three double plays and a nice diving catch by center fielder Tyler Freeman to start the game.
David Fry belted a two-run homer for the Guardians in the sixth shortly after Twins shortstop Carlos Correa was ruled to be illegally out of position while fielding a grounder.
The Twins stumbled into Cleveland. They were swept at home in a three-game series earlier this week by the New York Yankees, who shut out them out in the final two games and outscored Minnesota 14-1.
Twins rookie Simeon Woods Richardson was pulled in the sixth following an unusual matchup against Ramírez, who appeared to ground out to Correa for the first out.
However, the Guardians felt Correa was to the left side of second base when the pitch was released. They challenged and the play was overturned by replay — after a long delay — with Ramírez returning to the batter's box before hitting a foul pop the Twins let drop.
Ramírez then pulled a pitch down the right-field line that just missed being a two-run homer by a few feet. He eventually struck out, but Andrés Giménez, who opened the inning with a single, stole second and went to third on a throwing error.
Okert came on and the Twins cut down Giménez at the plate on a fielder’s choice before the versatile Fry, who has played first, outfield, catcher and DH, connected on an 0-2 pitch for his fourth homer.
Baldelli felt the replay was inconclusive.
“Frustrating game,” he said. “You can lose close games, but to have that many things go against you, especially late in the game and losing by a run, that’s rough and the guys in there are pretty pissed off.”
Kiriloff's homer leading off the third ended Minnesota's scoreless streak at 28 consecutive innings, the fourth longest streak in club history (since 1961).
NEW JERSEYS
The Guardians debuted their new City Connect Series uniforms.
The blue tops are emblazoned with “CLE” across the front in art-deco style letters and numbers inspired by the nearby Guardians of Traffic pillars on the Hope Memorial Bridge outside Progressive Field.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Twins: CF Byron Buxton is expected to be activated from the injury list for Saturday's game after being sidelined since May 3 with right knee inflammation. Buxton played back-to-back games this week at Triple-A St. Paul without any issues, clearing his return.
Guardians: RHP Gavin Williams (elbow) threw another bullpen session as he continues to build up arm strength after being hurt in training camp. He threw 50 pitches Wednesday in his first session since receiving an anti-inflammatory injection.
UP NEXT
Twins RHP Bailey Ober (4-1, 3.77 ERA) goes for his fifth win in six starts, matching up against Guardians LHP Logan Allen (4-2, 5.56).
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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