What a spring it was for Miami’s two winter sports teams, right?
I’m talking about the Miami Heat, who advanced to the NBA Finals, and the Florida Panthers, who also represent the Miami Metro Area and qualified for the NHL Stanley Cup Final.
Not only did the Heat and Panthers qualify for the finals of their respective professional sports leagues, but they both had to do so after entering the playoffs as the eighth (or lowest) seed in their conference.
The Heat had to survive that strange play-in tournament the NBA now has for its 7-10 seeds, while the Panthers benefited from the Pittsburgh Penguins' inability to defeat two of the worst teams in the NHL in the final days of the regular season.