Mikko Rantanen fell into tears of history. The Florida Black Panthers need a historic comeback.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will lead 3-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinal against the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers on Friday night, while Rantanen, who has been seen by hockey for generations, will lead Dallas in the Western League semifinals to include Dallas in the second game of the hockey game against the Winnipeg Jets.
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Florida lost a single goal match in Toronto to open their series, which resumed Game 3 in Game 3 on Friday.
History says the Panthers are in big trouble: Toronto won all 11 of the previous seven best series when he led 2-0 at home, Florida beat the game 0-5 with both games, both of which dropped Game 1 and 2, and teams facing a 0-2 deficit won about 14% of the time in the league.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Thursday there is no magic word now.
"If anything, you would say before two games, right? We won't stop any gems," Morris said. "It's probably the most important thing you realize. We got on the road and lost two single-ball games. Our game wasn't perfect. They weren't perfect either. So you're looking for adjustments to the foundation, not to the unusual things."
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In the West, Dallas ranked first in Winnipeg with a 3-2 victory, and Rantaning is indeed doing something unusual – and actually a lot of things are unusual.
He is the third player in NHL playoff history, giving Edmonton a hat-trick in 1985: Edmonton and 1944 Chicago Doug Bentley were the other players. He mastered one game in all of Dallas’ last 12 goals, an unparalleled streak for any player in any team in playoff history. He was the first player in playoff history, with at least eight goals and six assists in four games. In the same playoffs, the first three-goal period player. And continue, continue.
"Let's see how long he can run for this," said Dallas coach Peter Deboer. "He's rolling. His feeling. It's impressive, what he's doing. I mean, it's really impressive considering the opponent, the time of the year and how he's dominating the game."
Toronto maple leaves of Florida Black Panther
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When/Where to watch: Game 3, Friday, 7 pm ET (TNT/TRUTV/MAX)
Series: Maple Leaf Lead 2-0
If losing a single goal isn't bad enough for the playoffs - 5-4 in inning 1 in Game 1, 4-3 in Game 2 can look at the two goals given in those games and really lament how they score to create their current situation.
In Game 1, Seth Jones scored 2-1 to Florida State, while the Panthers gave up Morgan Rielly's goal after 19 seconds. In Game 2, Anton Lundell scored in Game 3, bringing Florida's game into a 3-3 draw - only Mitch Marner scored after 17 seconds to become the match champion.
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Leaves are sent out at home, which is what they should do. Toronto became the first team to win six games in the playoffs and will feel very good about it entering Game 3.
"It's not changing our day today," Panthers forward Sam Reinhart said Thursday before jumping on a rental plane in Florida to go home. "It's about recovering and reaching out to the best, playing our best game tomorrow night and then getting back in the matter."
Dallas star in Winnipeg Jets
When/Where to watch: Game 2, Friday, 9:30 PM EDT (TNT/TRUTV/MAX)
Series: Stars lead 1-0
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Playoff hockey is different. Every opponent at this time of the year is obviously proven. But the Winnipeg Jets (which took seven games and the 7th Miracle to escape St. Louis in the first round), in large part because they gave up a lot of goals.
In any six games in the regular season, the plane has given up 26 goals in the last six games.
Rantanen's hot streak is one thing, but Winnipeg's defense isn't quite back in the first round either. Although the Jets survived Game 7 at home, the last thing they needed was to return to Dallas on 2-0 holes.
First, do more to Rantanen.
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"He's just a guy, you always have to know when he's on the ice," Jets coach Scott Arniel said of facing Rantanen. "Whenever you're facing elite players, you have to know where they're. He's feeling. We have to know when he's on the ice."
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