Is it their time? The Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights continue to find ways to win

The Florida Panthers lead their Eastern Conference Final series 3-0 against the Carolina Hurricanes. Yes, the same Florida Panthers team that was dead in the water in the playoff race before a Pittsburgh Penguins implosion down the stretch.

On the other side of the bracket, the Vegas Golden Knights lead the Dallas Stars 2-0 in the Western Conference Final.

In both cases, the Panthers and Knights have held something in common throughout these playoffs: they find ways to win.

In the first three victories for Florida, Carolina dominated much of the play. In Game 1, Florida was unable to create any chances until their quick two-goal run in the second period. Then, the Canes went back to work and the Panthers were on their heels. Game 2 was all Carolina, as the Canes outshot Florida 38-26. Game 3 followed suit, with Carolina outshooting Florida 32-17.

Yet, in each game, the Florida Panthers found a way to win.

That way was either a key performance in net from Sergei Bobrovsky, a timely goal from Matthew Tkachuk, or simply holding their ground until they were able to make their push. Each and every time, they weathered the storm, and eventually answered back with the dagger to win the game, all while sticking to what they do best and understanding that eventually, their game was good enough to win.

That is a trait of a team capable of winning a championship.

"The most important thing was, no one felt like they had to change their game and no one did (after he left)," Panthers forward Sam Reinhart said. "Everyone tried to execute the same game plan."

Like the Panthers, the Golden Knights continue to get the job done

For Vegas, the story is much the same. In Games 1 and 2 against Dallas, the Golden Knights were able to win despite playing two drastically different contests.

In Game 1, Dallas was on their heels. They were coming off an emotional Game 7 win over the Seattle Kraken and looked to take nearly the entire game to find their stride. But in the end, they found a way to push overtime even though Vegas was controlling the game. That is a tough challenge for a team that likely deserved to win 3-1. But the Golden Knights kept coming and found the early overtime winner.

In Game 2, the Stars were much better. Dallas held Vegas to only 10 shots through 40 minutes and had a 2-1 lead late into the third period. Once again, Vegas stuck to their game and Jonathan Marchessault tied things up before Chandler Stephenson completed the comeback early in OT.

In the extra period, Dallas also had a golden chance to end the game. But Adin Hill slammed the door on Wyatt Johnston and the Knights found a way to bury their chance on the other end.

"That's part of the playoff journey, the teams that go deep find ways to win in overtime," Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. "Our chance in overtime was as good or better than theirs. We just have to stick them in the net."

Sometimes, it is just your time. For the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights, this may be it.