In 2005, Wade's Heat swept their first two opponents before losing in the Eastern Conference Finals.
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The Heat enter the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday against Indiana favored yet again to win it all.
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Indiana now advances to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they'll be underdogs against the defending champion Miami Heat.
James and West were penalized for the same play during a messy Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals.
New York reached the Eastern Conference finals last year and was considered a championship contender in this lockout-shortened season.
Just like that, the Eastern Conference finals are tied at 2 and the pressure has swung back to Miami.
However, if one breaks out during the Eastern Conference finals, all the better.
In Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Salvador's weak wrist shot slipped through the legs of the Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist.
The Rangers lost in the Eastern Conference finals last year to the New Jersey Devils, for whom Oates was an assistant coach.
And the Sabres have not won a playoff series since 2007 when they made their second consecutive trip to the Eastern Conference finals.
They likely would not meet again before the Eastern Conference finals.
Most of the ones who spoke Monday considered it a good one, though Iman Shumpert said not reaching the Eastern Conference finals made it a failure.
David West had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who were trying to reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2004.
They made it to the Eastern Conference finals last year after Game 7 home wins over Ottawa and Washington when New York was the top-seeded club.
The Bruins are also well aware they still have plenty of work to do to reach the Eastern Conference finals for the second time in three seasons.
In the Heat's Game 7 victory over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, Chalmers appeared to miss a couple of open teammates on one possession.
Gaborik had six goals and seven assists in 25 playoff games with New York over two years, including last season when the Rangers reached the Eastern Conference finals.
And with the New Jersey Devils ousting the New York Rangers in the sixth game of the Eastern Conference Finals last night, there is no Stanley Cup action on Sunday.
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Instead, the Bruins coach waited until after Tuukka Rask responded with 28 saves to help Boston beat New York 3-1 in Game 5 on Saturday and advance to the Eastern Conference finals.
The Pacers took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series and would advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2004 with a win Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
After notching one goal and eight assists in 20 postseason games a year ago, when the top-seeded Rangers reached the Eastern Conference finals, Stepan is ready to put his experience to good use.
It would have seemed impossible for him to have improved upon his play last year, when he won the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender and helped the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference finals.
After the Rangers' 3-2 loss to the Devils on Wednesday night in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Tortorella spoke fewer than 40 words in answering six questions or, in some cases, not answering them.
Besides, after watching him shut out the Devils for the second time in the series, the home fans were in no mood to be gracious at the end of the Eastern Conference finals' third game.
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Throw in a Falcons loss in their lone Super Bowl appearance (1999) and a pair of losses by the NBA Hawks in the Eastern Conference finals, and Atlanta rides neck-and-neck with Seattle on the disappointment meter.
LeBron James thoroughly dominated the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday night, scoring a game-high 30 points, collecting a triple-double, and securing a Miami victory with a game-winning layup as time expired.
On the Rangers, though, and under coach John Tortorella, Gaborik earns no quarter for his singular talents, and it's the reason he enters Saturday's Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals as a player with something to prove.
Seventeen seconds into the third period of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, he inadvertently passed the puck to Rangers forward Marian Gaborik, who banked a shot off the back of Brodeur's leg for a game-tying goal.
The fight did not start until late Saturday because promoter Bob Arum did not want it to compete with Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat.
Raymond Felton added 15 points and 10 assists for the Knicks, who haven't advanced in the playoffs since reaching the 2000 Eastern Conference finals.
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