SUNRISE, Fla. (CBSNewYork/AP) — The days of the Florida Panthers playing before a largely empty arena are not exactly long gone. It was just last season when the franchise was setting attendance futility records, getting attention for plenty of wrong reasons.
The narrative has changed completely since.
No longer hockey’s official doormat, the Panthers won the Atlantic Division title, set records for wins and points in a season and now can set their sights on ending the league’s second-longest current drought between playoff series wins. They open the Eastern Conference playoffs Thursday at home against the New York Islanders, the team that just happens to have the longest such drought.