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SUNRISE, Fla. -- Heres an example of how far Florida has come: At a game late last season, the Panthers were penalized twice because their home fans were overly exuberant.That wasnt possible a couple years ago.The Panthers were one of the NHLs surprises last year, winning the Atlantic Division -- only two years after finishing a staggering 51 points back in the division race -- and putting together the best regular season in franchise history. Now they have the look of a full-fledged contender, with expectations higher than theyve been in two decades.We achieved a lot of goals, Panthers forward Reilly Smith said. Making the playoffs was a big goal for us. Finishing first in our division was another big goal. Theres still that big one at the end of the tunnel that we didnt come close enough to, but wed like to get back there and we definitely have enough skill in our dressing room to get us back to that point.The Panthers expect to have a lot of that skill in Florida colors for years to come.Florida has no fewer than 10 players under contract for at least the next four seasons, including its young core -- Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Nick Bjugstad, Vincent Trocheck and Smith. The Panthers also added defenseman Keith Yandle in the offseason, part of some big changes on the blue line, and got goaltender Roberto Luongo a very strong backup in James Reimer.And of course, the Panthers still have Jaromir Jagr.He led the team in scoring last season, at the age of 44. He enters this season 20 points away from passing Mark Messier for No. 2 on the NHLs all-time list -- behind only Wayne Gretzky, who is still about 1,000 points ahead of anyone else.Jagr thinks it was a very positive sign for the Panthers to keep their core intact, and thinks the chemistry in Floridas dressing room is a big reason why success should be expected this season.Its not about three forwards and two defense, Jagr said. Its about five guys just working together. Forwards have to play defense, defense has to play forward. Thats just the style of hockey now. Everyone has to know how to play everything. Defense has to help the forwards and the other way around.Heres some things to know about the Panthers going into this season:STREAKY CATSThe Panthers were streaky last season, both good and bad. Florida had a 12-game winning streak, two five-game win streaks and one other stretch of four wins in a row. There also were losing streaks of four and five games. The roller-coaster ride worked out, though the Panthers believe theres too much talent for a reprise of any long droughts this season.CATS ARE COMINGThere were two games in November last year when Florida failed to draw even 11,000 people into its building, a common problem over the last couple decades. But as the playoffs neared, the Panthers were a big ticket -- their last eight regular-season games all drew more than 15,000, with four of those getting crowds of over 18,000. And the game against New Jersey on March 31 was the one where Florida fans got their team penalized twice by throwing toy rats onto the ice in the third period.PLAYOFF STINGTrocheck got tripped with 68 seconds left in Game 6 of Floridas first-round series with the New York Islanders, on a play where he had an empty net and a golden chance of wrapping up a trip to a Game 7 at home. Instead, the Islanders tied the game seconds later, then prevailed in double overtime to end Floridas season. Still hurts, Smith said.SPECIAL TEAMSAn area where Florida can improve this season is special teams. Floridas power play ranked 23rd in the 30-team NHL last season, and its penalty kill unit was 24th.ODDS WATCHThree years ago, sportsbooks in Las Vegas listed the Panthers as a 150-1 shot to win the Stanley Cup -- by far the longest in the league at that time. Entering this season, theyre listed at 20-1.Cheap Air Max 90 Essential . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. Off White Air Max 90 Outlet . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. http://www.outletairmax90cheap.com/outlet-air-max-90-off-white-cheap.html . Anthony Davis had 31 points and 17 rebounds in his seventh straight game with more than 20 points, but that was only enough to keep the Pelicans competitive into the final minutes. Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Golden State, which rebounded from a loss a night earlier in Oklahoma City and snapped a two-game skid. Fake Air Max 90 Black . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. Wholesale Air Max 90 White .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon.As the Olympics of fighting games, the Evolution Championship Series brings together the best talent from across the world. Skilled players from all continents converge on Las Vegas each summer to compete for a trophy in their respective titles, and its not always the home country that comes away with the most representatives on the podium.As the 2016 edition of Evo comes to an end, its now time to look at how the top countries did at the biggest fighting tournament of the year. United States, Japan, and South Korea were all notable contenders. Who came out on top as the worlds top fighter nation?How points are totaledFirst place (Gold) = 5 points Second place (Silver) = 3 points Third place (Bronze) = 1 point1. United States of America: 28 Points (4 Gold, 1 Silver, 5 Bronze)Okay, maybe sometimes it is the home country who ends up being the most decorated. Since there was only one anime game this year, Japans historical dominance was held in check as the United States took four golds out of the nine games. It was due to the likes of Juan Hungrybox Debiedma and Christopher NYChrisG Gonzalez finally breaking through after years of being perennial runners-up which gave the United States an edge this Evolution.Three of the American gold medal winners beat international players and not domestic players in their games finals, meaning US dominance wasnt exactly overwhelming overall. If say, NYChrisG had fallen in the finals or Adam Armada Lindgren had ousted Hungrybox, we could be looking at a drastically different table. Still, congratulations to the home nation for taking home the most points this time around.Well see how America holds up when it sets off to play in the recently announced Evolution Japan.2. Japan: 24 Points (2 Gold, 4 Silver, 2 Bronze)Japan won eight medals to Americas 10, but only took home two golds: Pokken Tournament and Guilty Gear Xrd. In Street Fighter V, where the Japanese dominated the majority of the top eight, they could only grab the silver and bronze spots on the podium. Thankfully, due to Japans dominance in 2D fighters like Guilty Gear, they were able to sweep that game and firmly establish themselves in second place overall. If a few things had gone differently, namely if SFVs winner Seon-Woo Infiltration Lee didnt exist, Japan could have finished first over America.Not too shabby for a country that is 5,000-plus miles away from Las Vegas.3. South Korea - 14 Points (2 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze)Like Japans dominance in Guilty Gear, South Korea holds uncontested sway over Tekken. As long as Tekken is still an official title at Evolution, the top Koreans will travel over and dominate in the game theyve made their own over the past decade. Besides the three Tekken winners, there was, of course, Infiltratiion.dddddddddddd Infiltration, the most famous Korean fighting game pro gamer, took home his fourth Evolution trophy in history by clinching the granddaddy of them all: the inaugural Street Fighter V title.If South Korea lobbied for more Tekken games at Evolution or simply cloned Infiltration, it could challenge the USA and Japan in fighting game supremacy.4. Canada - 5 Points (1 Gold, 0 Silver, 0 Bronze)Sometimes it only takes one player to put your nation on the fighting game map. Canada was shut out of all other games at Evolution -- only one other Canadian even made the top eight -- but Elliot Ally Carroza-Oyarce made up for it with his victory in Smash 4. In a game where the top echelon has been in flux the past few months, Canadas ace was able to secure a much needed victory for USAs neighbors north of the border.5. Chile - 4 Points (0 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze)A country you wouldnt instantly expect to be in the top five (top ten, even) of fighting game countries, Chile entered Evolution 2016 with a strong chance of grabbing double gold. It brought two defending champions to Las Vegas in the form of Smash 4s Gonzalo ZeRo Barrios and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3s Nicolás Kane BlueRiver González. Unfortunately for the South American nation, neither champion could repeat, as the former undisputed king of Smash 4 only achieved a bronze in his title and Kane BlueRiver lost to New Yorks NYChrisG in the UMvC3 final.T-6. Sweden - 3 Points (0 Gold, 1 Silver, 0 Bronze)Armada was so close to pushing Sweden into a tie with Canada by taking home the trophy. It wasnt meant to be, however, as the defending Super Smash Bros. Melee champion fell in the finals to American Hungrybox, and Sweden finished without gold this year. The biggest what-if for Sweden is wondering what could have happened if fellow Swedish Melee contender William Leffen Hjelte, initially one of the four favorites for the gold medal, had competed in the event; unfortunately, visa issues prevented him from attending Evo. Perhaps Sweden had two players on the podium in an alternate universe.T-6. Bahrain - 3 Points (0 Gold, 1 Silver, 0 Bronze)Not Germany. Not the United Kingdom. Not even Mexico, which is the closest country to Las Vegas. The seventh nation to grab a podium spot at Evolution 2016 was Bahrain with Sayed hashim Tekken Master Ahmed as their star player in Mortal Kombat X (not Tekken as one might have expected from the name). Although Tekken Master couldnt strike down Dominique SonicFox McLean, the exalted king in the competitive Mortal Kombat scene, he did grab an impressive second place finish to put Bahrain onto the standings. ' ' '