SUNRISE, Florida -- Legend has it a cat possesses nine lives, and always lands on its feet.

Florida Panthers' goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky seems to have taken those myths to heart.

Like the creature emblazoned on the crest of his sweater, the 34-year-old Bobrovsky has survived -- and eventually thrived -- through a tumultuous NHL season. In the previous eight months, Bobrovsky has been maligned and lionized, built up and counted out, a No. 1 starter and secondary afterthought.

Through it all, Bobrovsky was saving his best work for this moment, as the Panthers' postseason hero. Florida is up 3-0 on the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final, one win away from the franchise's second Stanley Cup Final appearance, with Game 4 tonight (8 p.m. ET, TNT). Bobrovsky already has the inside track on a Conn Smythe trophy win: 10-2 postseason record, .935 save percentage. 2.15 goals-against average. One shutout. Even one assist.

It's not how Florida drew things up, of course. That would hardly befit the journey Bobrovsky -- or the Panthers themselves -- have taken this season.

Florida battled its way into clinching a playoff berth in the final week, turning an abysmal 18-19-4 start into a late-season crescendo capturing the Eastern Conference's final spot. The Panthers pulled off a blockbuster summer trade for Matthew Tkachuk, saw him put together a 109-point, Hart Trophy-nominated regular season, and kept the faith that Florida's other stars would eventually catch up.

Bobrovsky reappeared right at the time he could have been written off.

When the Panthers started their unlikely playoff run, Alex Lyon had usurped Bobrovsky -- felled by illness late in the regular season -- as Florida's go-to goaltender. It took Lyon faltering in the Panthers' first-round series against the Boston Bruins for Bobrovsky to get another look. No one's checked the rearview mirror since -- least of all Lyon.

The journeyman might play behind Bobrovsky now, but Lyon has had a front-row seat at Bobrovsky's master class of preparation -- one allowing the veteran to ace these playoffs.

"It's like a writer being in a room with Ernest Hemingway," Lyon said of watching Bobrovsky work. "For me to be able to see him operate on a daily basis, that's literally like striking gold."

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IT'S NOT EXACTLY an investment of precious metals, but Bobrovsky's $10 million annual salary is the richest backing for any active NHL netminder. The Panthers have been waiting on that stock to mature.

Before landing in South Florida, Bobrovsky was backstopping the Columbus Blue Jackets and cementing his name as one of the league's top goaltenders, with two Vezina Trophy wins (in 2012-13 and 2016-17). When Bobrovsky hit free agency on July 1, 2019, the Panthers swooped in with a seven-year, $70 million contract offer to theoretically cement Bobrovsky, then 31, as the team's starter for the remainder of his career.

The road since has been riddled with speed bumps. This season was no exception.

Bobrovsky started out poorly, producing a 12-13-2 record with .897 SV% and 3.24 GAA through mid-January when he was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body issue. Time away clearly did Bobrovsky some good; he returned in February and went on a 12-4-1 run, with a .915 SV% and 2.54 GAA.

Skidding out of March with three straight losses led to a long illness for Bobrovsky, a stretch where Florida turned back to Lyon (Florida's other netminder, Spencer Knight, had by then entered the NHL's Player Assistance Program). It was Lyon who subsequently led the Panthers to six straight wins and helped propel them into that final playoff spot.

It was an improbable scenario playing out in the Panthers' favor, led by a goaltender with all of 24 NHL games under his belt going into this season. Florida coach Paul Maurice chose to ride that hot hand into the Panthers' first-round matchup against Boston, the Presidents' Trophy winners who had a record-setting 65-win, 135-point campaign.

Lyon was 1-1 in the series' first two games. When Florida trailed 4-0 in Game 3, Lyon got the hook. Bobrovsky was back in. He went on to start Game 4 and was rusty in a 25-save performance, but Maurice stuck with him. Once Bobrovsky found his groove it was like turning back a clock to those Vezina-winning days. And Bobrovsky has only gotten better.

He capped off the Bruins' series with three straight wins to send Florida into the second round. Bobrovsky dominated that next series against the Toronto Maple Leafs at 4-1-0, with a .943 SV% and 1.89 GAA as the Panthers bid adieu to the Leafs in five games.

Somehow, Bobrovsky has improved further taking on Carolina in the conference final. Florida jumped out to a 3-0 series lead with Bobrovsky stopping 132 of 135 shots, and he hasn't allowed a goal since the opening two minutes of Game 2. Not one of the Hurricanes' forwards have scored an even-strength goal. And it was Bobrovsky's first playoff shutout that powered Florida to an electrifying 1-0 win in Game 3 where they were outshot, 32-17.

If you thought Bobrovsky would accept some credit for the feat, you'd be wrong.

"It's a team structure, how we play," a deflective Bobrovsky said of his showing in Game 3. "My teammates allow me to play good. The structure and how hard they work in the defensive zone to get that result and to win, it's not easy for some players to get that role and block shots and sacrifice their stats for that. Our guys have sacrificed themselves for the team result and it's happy to see."

That good-natured energy, that ability to stay humble and focused, is what's stood out to Bobrovsky's teammates all along. Regardless of what the outside world had to say, Bobrovsky didn't let past performance determine his future potential.

"I think that's what's so great about Bob," defenseman Brandon Montour said. "People see him as having come to Florida and maybe not performing as well as he used to. But his mindset, his attitude, the way he comes to the rink every day, win or lose, he's the same guy, [brings] the same stuff. So it's great that he's [on] his game, but I feel like in our locker room, we don't notice much difference. He's been the same, worked hard, goes about his business and he's doing it the right way."

Anyone searching for insight into how exactly Bobrovsky's been such a dynamo will have to keep looking -- because he's not telling. It's not for strategy's sake. Bobrovsky just doesn't want to dwell on his own success.

"It's a team effort," he said of Florida's run. "It feels in a game like you just play in the moment. There's no future, no past, you're just right here, right now. You see what's going on and you react accordingly. Everyone contribute[s] to the result. It is what it is. I'm fortunate and humble and thank God for this."

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IT WOULD BE EASY for Lyon to resent Bobrovsky.

After a career spent mostly bouncing around the American Hockey League, Lyon was finally experiencing long-awaited NHL success. How frustrating then that right when Lyon stumbled, Bobrovsky suddenly hit his stride. A missed opportunity? Not for the 30-year-old Lyon. It was more a chance to study with his partner.

"I think when you're a young hockey player, you get caught in the trap of, 'What's the one thing that I can do? What's the secret that's going to elevate me to Vezina status?'" Lyon mused. "And it's just a very unhealthy way to think. You can fall into that trap. There's not one thing that's going to make you get over the top.

"It's just about your body of work, showing up consistently, doing the right things on a daily basis. And Bob's the model of that. For me to just be able to pick and choose what I like and see what works for me, try different things, be around him, it's great. I'm a learner. I like to learn by process."

Bobrovsky has certainly been schooling Carolina.

The Hurricanes pelted Florida from every angle in Game 3. They had breakaway tries. Plays off the rush. Hard shifts spent cycling in the Panthers' end that obviously put Florida's skaters on their heels.

It was Bobrovsky who kept standing tall.

"[Top goaltenders] can do that when they're on a stretch like this," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "You're coming home [after a game] and you just say, 'I could have four or five.' That didn't happen [for us]. It it what it is; he's playing great."

If he weren't, Maurice felt it unlikely that Florida would even be in its current position.

"It's a piece of the teams get to the [conference final]," he said. "We're coming in as a wild-card seed; it's almost a prerequisite the goalie comes in and is special this time of year."

While Bobrovsky has garnered individual accolades before, this is the closest he's come in a 13-year career to reaching a Cup Final. Florida went there in 1996. A victory in Game 4 would bring the Panthers back.

If that comes about it will be for a dozen different reasons. None are more paramount than how Bobrovsky has stepped up to star in a Cinderella season.

"It makes me excited, it makes me appreciate it," Bobrovsky said of being so close to the Cup Final. "I feel good. I'm just enjoying the opportunity and I want to thank God for this position and this game."

Following one of his nine seasons coaching the Winnipeg Jets, Paul Maurice had an idea: Could he be more intentional about the video he showed his players?

Video sessions are one of the most common teaching tools coaches employ. Maurice, now coach of the Florida Panthers, the eighth-seeded darlings of the Stanley Cup playoffs who are one win away from the Cup Final, wondered how his staff could maximize these meetings. How many times did they have to show a system before it appeared in a game? Could they identify lag time from a teaching moment on video to tangible success on the ice?

Maurice also wanted to quantify something deeper: Was his clip selection affecting players' psyche and performance?

"What happens if we put the same player on all of our negative clips, even though I know it's not all on that one player, like I'm picking on him? Or if I kept showing a player just doing good things, because I love that player?" Maurice said. "We wanted to find the cumulative effect of the video we were showing."

So Maurice and his staff embarked on an offseason project.

"From Monday to Thursday, the whole summer, from 9 in the morning to 1 or 2 in the afternoon, we all got together and reviewed everything," said Pascal Vincent, then one of Maurice's Winnipeg assistants. "We were looking for ways to improve."

The Jets' staff charted videos they showed the team the previous season and tracked the results in the subsequent games. They labeled each clip in one of three categories: positive clip, teaching clip, negative clip. The analytics department took it from there.

As the data accumulated, the coaches couldn't help but notice a pattern.

"We realized that we were getting results and seeing more success when we were showing more positive clips," Vincent said. "Of course, there are many other variables, but that is what the data said. I've done a lot of reading on the topic across other walks of life, and it confirmed what I was feeling."

The feeling has become a massive trend in the NHL: Coaches are finding that it's more productive to build up confidence through encouragement rather than hitting players with constant criticism. And it's especially true with young millennials and Generation Z.

"The bully coach, right, wrong or different, has no chance in today's game," Detroit Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. "It's the reality of the players today. You still have to hold them accountable, but you have to do it in different ways."

Call it the Ted Lasso effect. Heck, NHL players are even quoting the fictional soccer coach, known for his extremely upbeat attitude. Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark committed a puck-handling blunder in overtime of Game 5 of Boston's first-round series, directly leading to Matthew Tkachuk's winning goal for Florida. Afterward, Ullmark met a scrum of reporters and cameras at his locker, relaxed, composed, and even smiled at times. "You just have to have the mind of a goldfish," Ullmark said, a verbatim quote from the TV series.

The popular show is a microcosm for a shift in societal norms, which includes a new emphasis on mental health. Workplaces across multiple industries are adapting as younger generations crave different -- and in many instances, less negative -- environments than their predecessors. Historically, that contrasted with the high-pressure, demanding nature of professional sports. Not anymore.

"Positive, constructive feedback -- maybe people needed it generations before as well," said Bruins forward Garnet Hathaway, 31. "It just wasn't mainstream or they didn't advocate for it. But now, you see it as a way of unlocking even more potential."

The change in the sport is noticeable, and it's leading to periods of self-reflection.

"Overall it's become a more conservative, sensitive world. Kids now grow up not being yelled at, so they don't know how to react to being yelled at," Colorado Avalanche forward Evan Rodrigues, 29, said. "Growing up, I loved to be yelled at, it got me into the game, it got me focused. Now when someone yells at me, I take it differently. I'd rather them come up to me and say, 'Hey, I know you're better than that.' I used to love proving people wrong whereas now I like proving people right."

That idea feeds into one of Vincent's tried and true teaching techniques.

"Even if a player is struggling, there's a reason that they're here [in the NHL]," said Vincent, who this season served as an assistant coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets, one of the youngest teams in the league. "So you need to find out what that player is good at, then reinforce it. When you lose your confidence, you go back to the foundations of what you're good at, and it helps them find it again."

Many players interviewed for this article pushed back on the idea that coaching has to be all positivity all the time -- or that the NHL has fully transformed.

One player on an Eastern Conference team said: "My coach reads me the riot act pretty much twice a week. And I'm fine with it, if I deserve it."

Another player described a "passive aggressive" style from one of his former coaches, who is still behind an NHL bench. "He'd say mean things about you loudly, while you were in earshot so you can hear it," the player said. "Obviously because he wanted you to hear it."

Some in the league see a downside to the uber-positive approach. After the Maple Leafs' disappointing second-round loss to the Panthers, a narrative emerged in some circles that Toronto management created an environment where its star players were too coddled, and therefore ill-equipped to handle the adversity of playoff hockey.

One longtime veteran player in the league said he has noticed a gradual change over the past few years and "it doesn't sit well with me."

"Not to be the 'back in my day' guy, but ... it really feels like we've become softer as a league," the player said. "There are some dinosaur practices that need to go. I'd never advocate for mental or physical abuse. But this is professional sports, and it demands a level of accountability and toughness. It's OK to feel uncomfortable sometimes. It's OK to be yelled at or called out when you're not meeting standards. That's what makes you stronger."

Former player Ray Ferraro, an 18-year NHL veteran and current ESPN analyst, put it bluntly: "Sometimes you need to be demanding, but not an a--hole. Because the old way certainly doesn't work."

Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen, 26, called himself "a younger guy," but said, "I don't mind negative [coaching] sometimes."

"I think the positive way of seeing is better, but it can't be all positive; it needs to be a balance," Rantanen said. "[Colorado coach] Jared [Bednar] does a good job of that. When we don't play well, he shows it. Even when there's a game where we fall asleep just for a few plays, he's going to show it the next day and be mad. And that's the way it should be."

After Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, Dallas Stars coach Peter DeBoer said he laid into his players a bit following their loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

"There's certain pressure points with your team that you have to decide as a coach," DeBoer said. "Is this a time to be supportive and a calming voice of reason, or is this a time to turn the screws and get into them a little bit? I think you can only go to the latter one so often."

Coaches have also adapted to another trend younger millennials and Generation Z covet: transparency. Younger players don't need to agree with what is happening, they just want to know why. Bednar said he has adapted by being clearer with communication.

"The trend, and it makes sense to me now, is that if guys get no information, they'll go to the negative thought process," Bednar said. "I always thought if I don't give feedback on something, then you know you're doing good. I like my guys to know that: If I'm not coming to you, it's a good thing."

But over the past few seasons, Bednar noticed that approach wasn't always working, especially with younger players. If players didn't receive any reaction from him, they'd assume the worst, or look to other places for feedback, such as social media, which can get dicey.

"If a guy plays 10 minutes a night generally, then all of the sudden he has a game that's 7½, he'll be like, 'Oh my God, what did I do wrong?' Then the negative thoughts come in," Bednar said. "So I try to interrupt that. You have to go out of your way more. Now I try to brush past them in the locker room and just say, 'Hey, good job last night,' so they have something, even if I'm not having meetings with them."

Lalonde said he has made transparency a top priority for the Red Wings.

"I've never had a lineup go up until I told the player he's not in, and exactly why," Lalonde said. "You have to be honest."

Lalonde cited an example this season of a game in which he scratched one of his forwards.

"We spent just as much time as a staff putting three or four points together for the guy not in the lineup as we did on game planning the next night," he said.

Maurice still thinks back to his tape study but isn't ready to draw any grand conclusions.

"I don't know if there's a solid theory for every team," Maurice said. "Every team is different, every player is different. The most important thing is to understand the human nature aspect of it all."

Having come through the pathway at New Road since the age of six, Tongue has shown good pace and bounce from a tall action and will join the Test squad for their camp this weekend as a point of difference. With Robinson, Anderson and Mark Wood due to sit out the Ireland Test to preserve their fitness for the upcoming Ashes series, Tongue could be an outside shot for a maiden cap next week. Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Matthew Potts are the other seamers in the squad.

Adrian Peterson is ready to take his next handoff should any NFL team offer the 38-year-old the chance in 2023.

Peterson, who didn't play last season, needs 82 rushing yards to hit 15,000 for his career. He is 351 yards from tying Barry Sanders for fourth place on the all-time rushing list.

"Mentally, I haven't officially hung it up. We'll see what happens," Peterson told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "My mindset is, if God's willing, maybe an opportunity presents itself, and maybe it happens this season. I'll go from there. But [if] nothing happens this season, for sure, I will be hanging it up."

Peterson last played in 2021, appearing in one game with the Seattle Seahawks and three with the Tennessee Titans.

Originally drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, Peterson also has played for New Orleans, Arizona, Washington and Detroit. He is a four-time All-Pro and led the NFL in rushing three times.

The New York Jets will host Matt Araiza for a workout Wednesday, the free agent punter's agent told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Araiza has been out of the NFL since being released by the Buffalo Bills last August, two days after a lawsuit was filed accusing him and two former San Diego State teammates of being involved in an alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl.

Araiza might not have a clear path to a roster spot with the Jets, who signed veteran punter Thomas Morstead last month and gave him a $1.1 million guarantee on a $1.3 million contract.

The San Diego district attorney decided late last year to not press criminal charges against Araiza, and San Diego State announced last week that an internal investigation found no wrongdoing by Araiza. The school also said none of the former students named in the lawsuit is the subject of a current investigation, although it reserved the right to "reinstate" an investigation if there are new developments.

Araiza, who was 21 at the time of the alleged incident, has maintained his innocence. The civil case remains ongoing in the matter.

ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg and Rich Cimini contributed to this report.

The news that the co-owner of Chelsea FC and the LA Dodgers is to plunge 'significant investment' into top-level squash is a huge tonic for everyone who loves this wonderful sport. Billionaire businessman Mark Walter had already supported the PSA World Tour by bankrolling the last three World Championships in Chicago and sponsoring the Windy […]

DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars defended captain Jamie Benn after he was ejected in the first period of their devastating 4-0 loss in Game 3, which put the Vegas Golden Knights one win away from a Western Conference finals sweep.

With his team already trailing 1-0 in the first two minutes of Tuesday night's game, Benn knocked Vegas captain Mark Stone to the ice with a check. With Stone on his back, Benn drove his stick down into Stone's jaw area while falling to the ice himself. The on-ice officials gave Benn a match penalty for cross-checking.

They reviewed the play on a tablet near the penalty boxes and determined the call was correct. Per NHL Rule 59, a cross-checking match penalty can be assessed if the referee believes a player "attempted to or deliberately injured his opponent by cross-checking."

At 1:53 of the first period, Benn skated off to the locker room with a game misconduct penalty. Vegas would score on the ensuing five-minute major power play and again at 7:10 of the first period, chasing Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger after he faced just five shots.

"I'm not sure you could script it much worse," Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said of the team's start.

Benn, 33, refused to speak with the media after the game.

His teammates and coach did speak, defending their captain.

DeBoer said Benn "made a mistake" on the play.

"I don't think anyone in the building feels worse than he does about it. I'm not going to pile on him. He's been a leader here for his entire career and leads by example every day on and off the ice. He made a mistake. Fortunately, Mark Stone's OK," he said.

DeBoer acknowledged that Benn could be looking at supplemental discipline from the NHL for the cross-check. George Parros, director of the department of player safety, attended the game.

"We will live with the consequences, whatever they are. We'll live with them tonight and we'll live with them going forward," DeBoer said. "It's a reactionary sport. It's a heat-of-the-moment sport. There's a lot of stuff going on there on the ice. I'm not judge and jury. I'm not going to play that tonight."

Forward Tyler Seguin, the second-longest-tenured player in Dallas, after Benn, said there was "zero" frustration with the captain in the locker room. "Jamie's one of the, if not the, best captain in this league and top leader. Collectively, we lost as a group," he said.

Dallas forward Joe Pavelski concurred.

"He was tied up and engaged and went for a little extra. Emotions get the best of all of us at some point," he said.

Pavelski was a captain himself for four seasons with the San Jose Sharks. Was he at all disappointed in Benn?

"No. You guys ask if I'm disappointed in the guy I have so much respect for? Who battles so hard? I have no problems with [Benn]. We have to be better from there," he said. "We're in the conference finals. They don't come around every day. We still have a little life."

The start of Game 3 was an absolute embarrassment for Dallas.

Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault gave the Golden Knights the lead 1:11 into the contest, taking a pass from linemate Jack Eichel and quickly shooting the puck past Oettinger.

Just 42 seconds later, Benn cost Dallas its captain for the rest of the night.

Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy was impressed that his team didn't lose its composure after seeing Stone attacked by Benn.

"We're upset when we see that. He's our captain. But at the end of the day they make a call that gives us a chance to make them pay for that penalty," the coach said.

The Stars were doing a good job of killing off the ensuing penalty until Vegas forward Ivan Barbashev scored his fifth goal of the playoffs at 5:57 of the first period.

"I actually liked our energy. I loved us on the penalty kill," DeBoer said. "I thought even though we gave up the first goal and Jamie took the penalty, I thought we had the legs and the energy and the attitude to kind of survive it. Well, we didn't."

Just 1:13 later, forward William Carrier beat Oettinger high glove side for his first goal of the playoffs and a 3-0 Vegas lead.

DeBoer pulled Oettinger after just 7:10 of ice time. The Stars goaltender has played 33 games since March 1.

Backup goaltender Scott Wedgewood, who had last played on May 13 against the Seattle Kraken, entered the game. He would give up only one goal, as Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo scored his first of the playoffs on the power play at 8:28 of the second period to make it 4-0.

The Stars started coming unhinged at that point. Forward Ty Dellandrea took back-to-back penalties. Forward Max Domi hit Vegas defenseman Nicolas Hague from behind, launching him into the boards. He then skated up to Hague to throw a couple of gloved punches at him. Domi was given cross-checking and roughing minors, as well as a 10-minute misconduct penalty.

Following those calls on Domi, Dallas fans littered the ice with plastic bottles and assorted garbage in protest, frustration or a combination of both. The referees had the Golden Knights and Stars players leave for their dressing rooms with 21.6 seconds remaining in the second period for their safety.

The period was completed ahead of the start of the third. The fans weren't done: Vegas goalie Adin Hill was hit with a bag of popcorn as he walked out after the second intermission.

"I guess everything was hitting me tonight," joked Hill, who made 34 saves for his first NHL playoff shutout.

Seguin said he was disappointed with the fans' behavior, but said his team was the catalyst for it.

"Yeah, we don't love it. We have amazing fans here," Seguin said. "That's out of character for them. But we put them in that position. They're emotional just like us. So we've got to do better."

Game 4 will be Thursday night in Dallas. Teams that hold a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoffs round own a series record of 200-4 (.980), including a 46-0 mark during the round before the Final. The Stars are 0-7 in playoff series when trailing 3-0.

"A lot of stuff tonight's between the ears," Seguin said. "You got to beat us one more time. We have a tight group in here, a lot of character and we're going to give everything we got."