Cote: 2 losses, 2 different stories: Florida Panthers still in charge, Heat back in trouble | Opinion

The biggest question across South Florida sports Saturday night was not whether the Florida Panthers would sweep the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL playoffs.

(They would not, but it’s OK. They will still win and advance.)

The bigger question was whether the Miami Heat, after a thoroughly unexpected Game 2 win in Boston, might actually have the means of engineering what would be among the biggest first-round series upsets in NBA history.

(It does not, and so order favoring the Celtics is hereby restored.)

The Panthers lost Saturday evening in Tampa, 6-3, but still lead the series by a comfortable 3-1 and can clinch and advance back home in Sunrise in Game 5 on Monday night. If anything, Cats fans ought be encouraged by the fight as their team clawed back from an early 3-0 hole.

The Heat lost an hour later Saturday at home to Boston, 104-84, and this was far more discouraging — way beyond the 2-1 series deficit Miami brings back to the home court for Game 4 Monday night.

The Celtics dominated as they had done in the series opener. Showed why they had the best record in the NBA this season. Seemed to outwork Miami all night in counterpoint to the haloed tenets of Heat Culture. Two thoughts occurred. 1). Boston is this good. 2). Miami is missing its best player in injured Jimmy Butler, which might be moot ... because Boston is this good.

In the first of the two games, the pedigreed, recent two-time Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning were home, embarrassed by a 3-0 series hole, and apex-desperate in a literal must-win game.

That the Lightning would come out and play like it with its season on the line was the most foreseeable thing in sports. Florida knew it.

“The fourth [win in a series] is the hardest to get,” Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk had said. “We have to come out absolutely ready to go on Saturday.”

They did not. But Tampa did.

The Lightning shot ahead 3-0 with a variety-pack of first-period goals: The first on a power play (by Steven Stamkos), the second short-handed (by Brandon Hagel) and the third even-strength (though 4-on-4, by Brayden Point).

“Tough to come back from three goals [down],” said Aleksander Barkov. “We have to play a little smarter. But we’re going home up 3-1. We’re in good spot.”

At 3-nil down, suddenly Cats goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was made mortal, and Florida was a huge rally away from a sweep.

But fight they did.

Goals by Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart on a power play and unheralded Oliver Ekmann-Larsson kept Florida in it before Tampa pulled away.

“We made it a game a littler bit, but it wasn’t enough,” said Verhaeghe.

Florida up 3-1 is still gilded territory. In NHL history teams up 3-1 in a best-of-7 win and advance 90.5 percent of the time, by a 306-32 series margin.

But Florida must be wary of ts special teams. Tampa was 2 for 5 on power plays Saturday. Only one of six goals given up was in a standard 5-on-5 situations. One of the Cats’ goals allowed was on a 5-on-3 disadvantage.

“A little problem with special teams tonight, and that’s a recipe for a problem,” said coach Paul Maurice. “But we’re gonna fire ourselves back up and enjoy the hell out if it.”

The Cats have moved past the first round only three times in franchise history: In expansion-era 1996, in 2022 and last season. But I still hugely like this year to be the fourth time, and third straight season.

The Heat’s chances of moving on are very small by comparison — even as a 2-1 series deficit with a home game on deck seem like reasonable chances. In NBA playoff history , teams down 2-1 still win 20.1 percent of the time..

Not sure I give the Heat that 1-in-5 shot here.

For the second time in three games Boston dominated.

For the first time in three games, it wasn’t about which team was better at three-point baskets.

Boston was better at everything,. including defense, long a Heat forte.

“They took us out of stuff we would like to get to,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “They were the more physical team. They bodied us, bullied us on screens, got through stuff, distorted screens, everything. You have to credit them for that. They were the more physical team, the team with more force on both ends of the court.”

Said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla: “We didn’t make too many adjustments. We played a little bit harder, and we dictated the physicality and the tempo of the game. It’s the simple things that you have to do under a high level of stress, high level of adversity. I thought our guys did a great job of dictating that tonight.”

Miami shot only 41.6 percent including 9 for 28 on three-pointers. Boston scored 24 points off a dozen Heat turnovers.

“That’s where we’re going to win games — on the defensive end,” said the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum.

This series is more than Miami missing Butler.

It is that Boston, starting with a strong nucleus of Tatum and Jaylen Brown — with 44 points combined Saturday — somehow maneuvered to add Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday during the offseason. Brilliant work by Brad Stevens, Pat Riley’s rival and counterpart.

Because of that, Saturday night saw Boston back in control in this first-round playoff series with Miami.

And left the Florida Panthers still in control over Tampa Bay.