SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — There are no shortage of storylines for this Florida-Boston rematch.
There’s the Panthers, trying to move another step closer toward a return to the Stanley Cup Final. There’s the Bruins, looking to avenge a shocking upset in a Round 1 series last season. The rested Panthers having just gotten a few days off, the razor-sharp Bruins rolling in after a Game 7 overtime win over Toronto.
Florida coach Paul Maurice summed it all up succinctly.
“None of that matters when the puck drops," Maurice said.
He’s probably right. A second-round series between the Panthers and Bruins starts Monday night in South Florida, the two best teams in the Atlantic Division squaring off with a trip to the NHL’s final four on the line. Florida rallied from a 3-1 deficit to stun Boston in Round 1 a year ago, and the Bruins needed to exorcise those Game 7 overtime demons on Saturday night to beat Toronto and keep their season alive.
“We’re a better team for what we just went through,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said Saturday night after Boston’s 2-1 win over Toronto. “Now we know what it takes to push through.”
The Panthers have home-ice advantage because they won the Atlantic Division, even though Boston spent the overwhelming majority of the season in first place. Florida passed the Bruins on the final day of the regular season for both clubs.
But the way Boston sees it, surviving the Round 1 test against Toronto delivered a needed edge.
“It’s resilience. It’s mental toughness. It’s belief in one another,” Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy said. “When we needed it the most in the biggest game of the year, we got it. And I think our group can take a lot from that.”
Florida watched the Boston-Toronto series knowing either way, it’d be a rematch — the Panthers beat Boston in Round 1 and Toronto in Round 2 last year. Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said he expected to see Boston, and the Bruins proved him right.
Florida has been off for a week since ousting Tampa Bay in Round 1.
“I personally love it,” Tkachuk said. “It feels like we’re just about to start playoffs now. That break was really good for us.”
Florida is in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third consecutive year. The only other teams that can say that are Carolina and Edmonton.
Dallas beat Vegas on Sunday night to make Round 2 for the second straight year. None of the other four teams in the second round this season — Boston, the New York Rangers, Colorado and Vancouver — made Round 2 last season.
Boston went 4-0-0 vs. Florida this season, winning two of those games in overtime. The Bruins were one of four teams — and the only from the Eastern Conference — to beat the Panthers in every meeting this season, joining Vancouver, Minnesota and Winnipeg.
Bruins goalies Jeremy Swayman (3.00, .857 in one game) and Linus Ullmark (1.62, .947 in three games) combined to stop 108 of 116 Florida shots. Sergei Bobrovsky was in net for all four games for Florida, giving up 13 goals on 101 shots (3.24, .871).
Game 2 is in Sunrise on Wednesday and Game 3 is at Boston on Friday — which led to the switching of a Tim McGraw concert. He’ll now play at TD Garden on Wednesday.
A good sign for the Bruins: Teams that win a Game 7 in overtime have gone on to win their next series 16 out of 21 times since 2003.
The most recent team to use a Game 7 OT victory as a springboard to next-round success was Florida — which beat Boston in Game 7 of Round 1 last year and wound up going all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
Boston had four previous Game 7 overtime wins before Saturday. The Bruins went on to win the next series three of those times (1939, 2011, 2013) and lost the next series once (1983).
Power plays weren’t exactly powerful in the Bruins-Panthers regular-season series. Boston went 2 for 13 with the man advantage and Florida went 0 for 11.
The Panthers were worse on the power play against only one opponent this season. They were 0 for 17 against Toronto, the team that Boston defeated to get into Round 2 against Florida.
Florida had the second-most shots on goal in the NHL this season. But the Bruins find a way better than anyone else to bottle up the Panthers.
Boston allowed Florida an average of 29 shots on goal per game. The only team in the NHL to allow Florida a lower average this season was Philadelphia, which held the Panthers to 22 shots per contest in their three matchups.
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Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery cheers after a goal by center Trent Frederic (11) during the first period of Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series agains the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Fans celebrate after the Boston Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime during Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) and left wing Matthew Tkachuk, left, congratulate center Carter Verhaeghe (23) after Verhaeghe scored a goal during the third period of Game 5 of the first-round of an NHL Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Monday, April 29, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler’s arrest and prompt release from a Louisville jail Friday that let him play in a high-profile tournament after being booked on charges including felony assault has sparked questions over whether he was given preferential treatment because of his fame.
Some social media users raised the issue of malfeasance by the Louisville police department, which a national report last year found has used excessive force and invalid search warrants.
Police are continuing their investigation, but here's a look at the incident and policing in Louisville:
Officers were redirecting traffic after a fatal accident near the Valhalla Golf Club when Scheffler allegedly disobeyed an officer's command. His car accelerated forward and dragged the officer to the ground, according to a police report, and the officer suffered injuries to his wrist and was taken to the hospital.
The 27-year-old Scheffler, who lives in Texas, was arrested outside the club just after 6 a.m., taken to jail, dressed in an orange jumpsuit and had his mug shot taken. The Louisville Metro Police Department said he was booked on four charges, including second-degree assault of a police officer.
But by 10:08 a.m., he was on the other side of the city and teeing off at the PGA Championship. Scheffler had been released on his own recognizance, without posting bond, after agreeing that he would make all his court dates in Louisville.
Scheffler and his attorney have said he didn't intentionally do anything wrong, and he misunderstood police commands and simply was trying to get to the course. His lawyer previously represented the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by police in 2020, in a civil suit against the city a few years ago.
Scheffler was greeted with cheers by fans when he arrived at the golf course, but some in Louisville with memories of a turbulent past took a dim view of the incident.
“A man drags a cop with his vehicle and hospitalizes him. He’s arrested ... charged with a felony ... and then immediately released so he can make his tee time? Did I get that right?” said Ricky L. Jones, a University of Louisville professor of pan-African studies, on the social platform X.
Bill Miller, a local golf fan who was at the course Friday, said it cast Louisville and the police in a negative light.
“It’s just another bad look for the city,” Miller said. “I’d want to understand what the cop was trying to do. But it’s sad.”
A spokesperson for Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Saturday there is no police body camera video of the initial encounter between Scheffler and the officer. The officer was directing traffic at the time, and the department’s officers typically don’t record video with their body cameras while directing traffic, Kevin Trager, the mayor’s press secretary, wrote in a text message to an Associated Press reporter.
Elsewhere, the incident drew reaction from an Atlanta-area pastor who hosted a funeral for Roger Fortson, a young Black senior airman who was shot by a Florida sheriff’s deputy at his home this month.
“Something is wrong in America,” said Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. “You have respect for a golfer, but you don’t have respect for (Fortson) and for a person who has given their life to this nation. You cannot remain silent in the face of injustice.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear took heat on X for a post encouraging people to welcome golf tournament fans “with the kindness and hospitality we’re known for.” One commenter replied with Scheffler's mug shot and observed that Beshear's post had not aged well.
The department has attracted negative national attention in recent years after the fatal shooting of Taylor in 2020 and a federal investigation into its policing practices. It has also been the subject of protests over its policing.
A Department of Justice report released last year said Louisville officers use excessive force and conduct searches based on invalid warrants. It also said Black motorists in the city were more likely to be searched during traffic stops, and officers used neck restraints, police dogs and stun guns against people who posed no imminent threat.
Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was shot by officers who came to her apartment with a warrant that federal officials later said was falsified.
The police department was lauded, however, for its response to a mass shooting at a bank in 2023, when the shooter armed with an AR-15 was quickly killed before he could hurt more people. One officer who had just joined the force was struck in the head by a bullet, sustaining a brain injury.
Last year the department hired as its new police chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel, the first Black woman to hold the position. The city continues to negotiate a consent decree with federal officials that will stipulate what policing reforms should take place.
Associated Press Writers Aaron Morrison in New York and Eddie Pells in Louisville contributed to this report.
In this still image made from video provided by ESPN, Masters champion Scottie Scheffler is put into a police car after being handcuffed near Valhalla Golf Club, site of the PGA Championship golf tournament, early Friday, May 17, 2024. (ESPN via AP)
In this mug shot provided by the Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections Friday, May 17, 2024, Scott Scheffler is shown. Masters champion Scottie Scheffler was detained by police Friday morning on his way to the PGA Championship, with stunning images showing him handcuffed as he was led to a police car. (Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections via AP)
Scottie Scheffler walks to the tee on the 11th hole during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Friday, May 17, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Scottie Scheffler celebrates after a birdie on the 12th hole during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Friday, May 17, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
