Florida Panthers interim coach Andrew Brunette said his side's fighting spirit was key in a series comeback against the Washington Capitals, culminating in Friday's 4-3 victory in overtime.
It was the Panthers' third straight win after falling down 2-1 in the series, and Game 6 was closely contested throughout.
After a scoreless first period, Nic Dowd opened the scoring for the Capitals, before Ryan Lomberg answered straight back to keep things at 1-1 heading into the last frame.
Nicklas Backstrom put the home side back in front, but the 'Comeback Cats' would not lay down, with Claude Giroux and Aleksander Barkov giving the Panthers a 3-2 lead.
In the closing stages, after the Capitals had pulled their goalie to get an extra attacker on the ice, T.J. Oshie found the equaliser to send the crowd into raptures and force overtime.
But this was the Panthers' night, and Carter Verhaeghe slotted the golden goal less than three minutes into the extra period to win the game and seal the series.
It is the first time the Panthers have won a playoff series since 1996, and Brunette said the performance epitomised their season.
"I think it's what we saw all year – the resiliency of the group," he said.
"People will say we're the 'Comeback Cats' – I'm not sure that's what I see – I see a group of guys that get hit, and they don't fall down, and they start hitting back.
"They showed that throughout the whole series, they showed it tonight.
"We gave up a late goal – it was a heart-breaking moment that could really affect you and can kill momentum – but again, we took the punch, we stood up, and we started punching back. It epitomises the whole season for us."
Asked if finally getting an elusive series win takes the pressure off his players, Brunette said he hopes it is the case.
"I hope [the series win takes the monkey off the Panthers' backs] – especially for the guys that have been here for a while," he said.
"It probably feels really good, because they put a lot of pressure on themselves – probably too much – throughout the course of the series. They were able to find a way and pull through it.
"I think as the series went on I felt they loosened up a little bit. We were a little nervous at home the other night, but they found their mojo and got going.
"These things – you've got to go through them a few times to really get the feel of it. You have to have heartbreaks, you have to have things not go your way, to find out how hard it is, and understand it, and be resilient.
"When you see the reward like they did tonight, it's all worth it."
Bruins continue 'magical season' with Presidents' Trophy, but 'hardest part is ahead of us'
The Boston Bruins clinched the Presidents' Trophy on Thursday but quickly turned their focus towards the postseason, with coach Jim Montgomery "looking forward to that grind".
The Bruins have been the NHL's outstanding team this season and moved to 121 points – out of the reach of any rival – with a 2-1 overtime win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Their 58th win of the campaign set a new team record, but Montgomery is keen to ensure this is not the extent of their achievements.
After a victory that he acknowledged was "not the standard we've seen all year", he said: "We're not at our game, and there's fatigue that comes in. It's not easy, but we're finding ways to win.
"It's been a magical season so far, and we know the hardest part is ahead of us, and we're looking forward to that grind."
Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron was slightly more interested in revelling in their Presidents' Trophy success, the fourth in team history.
"Of course you're proud," he said. "A lot of games and a lot of hard work.
"I'm proud of the way we've done it, sticking to our process and growing as a team."
The Bruins have seven games left in the regular season and need five more wins to set a new NHL record for wins in a single season.
Olympics chief Bach labels politicians 'deplorable' over calls to deny Russian athletes right to compete
Olympics chief Thomas Bach has attacked politicians pushing for Russian and Belarusian athletes to be prevented from returning to international sport, saying their attitude is "deplorable".
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Bach launched a tirade on Thursday at the "negative reactions" to plans to allow competitors from Russia and Belarus to compete in global sporting events as neutral individual athletes.
There has been no final decision taken yet on whether those athletes can take part in next year's Olympics; however, there will be potential pathways for them to qualify for the Games, and it could yet mean there are Russians and Belarusians taking part in the Paris Games while war continues in Ukraine.
Government figures in the UK, Germany and beyond have expressed opposition to such athletes being allowed to take part, although IOC guidance on Tuesday potentially opened that door.
For those politicians there was a fierce rebuke from Bach.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Bach said: "Today the IOC executive board discussed the reactions to our recommendations issued on Tuesday.
"There we have taken note of some negative reactions by some European governments in particular. I can only reaffirm there what the Olympic movement and all the stakeholders have made very clear before: that it is deplorable to see some governments do not want to respect the majority within the Olympic movement and of all stakeholders, nor the autonomy of sport which they are praising and requesting from other countries in countless speeches, UN resolutions, EU declarations, and at every other opportunity.
"It is deplorable that these governments do not address the question of double standards with which we have been confronted in our consultations.
"We have not seen a single comment from them about their attitude towards the participation of athletes whose countries are involved in the other 70 wars and armed conflicts in the world.
"It is even more deplorable that they grossly neglect the very clear statement of the two special rapporteurs from the UN human rights council. While in other issues they are always highlighting their firm request for the respect of human rights
"Discussions and reactions from the Olympic movement are making it very clear, that these government interventions have strengthened the unity of the Olympic movement.
"All stakeholders make it very clear again: it cannot be up to the governments to decide which athletes can participate in which competition. This would be the end of world sport as we know it today.
"The Olympic movement stakeholders are very concerned about this politicisation of sport. They are very concerned about the attitude of these governments wanting to take over the participation and the decision of participation in sport events in their country or even in other countries."
Bach pointed to a letter from the presidents of the five regional groupings on national Olympic committees, representing all 206 NOCs, in which he said it was stated that "international sports competitions welcome athletes from all countries".
Asked why it was only athletes from Russia and Belarus that were being asked to compete as neutrals, rather than those from other conflicts and wars to which he referred, Bach said that was "because this was a blatant violation of the Olympic truce and happened between the Olympic Winter Games and the Paralympic Games".
That was a reference to the timing of the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
With regard to Germany and the UK, Bach said: "Both NOCs have made it very clear they do not boycott, and we will not punish athletes or an NOC for the position of their governments.
"We will always make every effort not to punish athletes for misbehaviour of their national governments."
Bach, who is German, said "a vast, vast majority of all stakeholders of the Olympic movement" supported the IOC putting in place conditions for the possible return to international competition of athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports.
He added: "I can only reaffirm the entire Olympic movement strongly stands by its values and by its mission to unite the world in a peaceful competition."
IOC denies dragging its heels over decision on Russians and Belarusians for Paris 2024 Olympics
Thomas Bach denied the International Olympic Committee is biding its time over deciding whether Russia and Belarus athletes can compete at Paris 2024 amounted to "kicking it down the road".
IOC president Bach spoke on Tuesday at a press conference after interim recommendations were issued to international federations and organisers of events regarding the involvement of Russians and Belarusians in events while war in Ukraine continues.
The Olympic body urged federations to exclude any athletes or support personnel "who actively support the war", along with anybody "contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies", and said teams from either country should not be allowed to compete in international sport for now.
However, in a statement, the IOC said: "Sports organisations must have the sole responsibility to decide which athletes can take part in international competitions based on their sporting merits and not on political grounds or because of their passports."
There is a clear possibility of Russian and Belarusian athletes being allowed to compete as neutrals at the Paris Olympics next year, although Bach stressed there has been no decision taken on that matter, explaining it has yet to be discussed by the IOC executive board.
Bach said the IOC was going along with a United Nations position, and when asked whether Olympic chiefs were simply waiting for the war to end, and holding fire on direct action until then, he refuted the contention.
"We are not kicking it down the road, and we are not waiting," Bach said. "I guess we all would like the war to end now, and this is what we are calling for, but as you can see for all the reasons we are giving the conditions are not related to the development of the war, they are related to the respect of the Olympic charter and the Olympic values, and there we have to address these questions whether somebody is actively supporting the war in whichever way."
Bach said a decision regarding next year's Olympics would be made "at the appropriate time", without indicating when that might be, saying it was important to monitor the latest recommendations "for as long as possible" before taking "an informed decision".
He said there was no timeline because "nobody knows what's happening tomorrow or in one week or in nine months, so we have just to monitor and then find the appropriate time".
Bach knows there is unease in some quarters about the IOC not taking a firm decision.
When asked about Russia being happy its athletes were being able to compete, and Ukraine being unhappy with the situation, Bach said: "We have been accused by the Russian side of being agents of the United States, and we have been accused by Ukrainian side of being promoters of the war, so we appear to be somewhere in the middle."
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