{"id":219298,"date":"2026-04-05T04:52:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T04:52:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/219298\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T04:52:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T04:52:24","slug":"no-three-peat-florida-panthers-eliminated-from-nhl-playoff-contention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/219298\/","title":{"rendered":"No three-peat: Florida Panthers eliminated from NHL playoff contention"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Florida Panthers<\/a>‘ quest for a rare three-peat was almost over before it started.<\/p>\n

The two-time defending champions were already without Matthew Tkachuk because of offseason surgery to repair a sports hernia that he played through during the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Then, on the first day of fall practice, captain Aleksander Barkov, a three-time Selke Trophy winner as top defensive forward, tore his ACL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That was a major blow after an offseason in which general manager Bill Zito defied the odds<\/a> and got Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad re-signed.<\/p>\n

Instead of the Panthers pushing for the NHL’s first three-peat since the 1980s, they were officially eliminated from playoff contention after a 9-4<\/a> defeat against the Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> on April 4.<\/p>\n

Normally, a team with Barkov’s situation would place him on long-term injured reserve and bring in someone, but the newly enacted playoff salary cap<\/a> makes that tougher to pull off.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The Panthers opened the season with three consecutive wins then lost four in a row as the injuries piled up.<\/p>\n

Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov had surgery for an upper-body injury in mid-October with an estimated recovery time of five months.<\/p>\n

“We’re not allowing any short-term injuries this year,” coach Paul Maurice quipped at the time.<\/p>\n

Eetu Luostarinen missed eight games with burns after a “barbecuing mishap.”<\/a> Seth Jones missed 2\u00bd months after being hit with a puck<\/a> at the Winter Classic. Marchand missed 11 games in the lead-up to the Olympics.<\/p>\n

Tkachuk was able to return on Jan. 19 and the Panthers got to a season-best eight games above .500 (three points out of a playoff spot) on Jan. 25 before they fell again.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

After the Olympics, in which the Panthers sent a league-best nine players, the Panthers began shutting down injured players, including Marchand<\/a>. And Niko Mikkola, Anton Lundell and Evan Rodrigues suffered long-term injuries recently.<\/p>\n

“The most dangerous job in sports right now is to play for the Florida Panthers<\/a>,” Maurice told reporters.<\/p>\n

1 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Feb. 28: Referee Cody Beach stops the fight between the Washington Capitals’ Connor McMichael and Montreal Canadiens’ Kaiden Guhle (21) during the third period at the Bell Centre.<\/p>\n

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1 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Feb. 28: Referee Cody Beach stops the fight between the Washington Capitals’ Connor McMichael and Montreal Canadiens’ Kaiden Guhle (21) during the third period at the Bell Centre.<\/p>\n

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2 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Feb. 28: The Ottawa Senators’ Brady Tkachuk (7) battles along the boards with the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Brandon Carlo in the second period at Scotiabank Arena.<\/p>\n

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3 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Feb. 28: The Nashville Predators’ Filip Forsberg hits the boards alongside the Dallas Stars’ Nils Lundkvist during the third period at the American Airlines Center.<\/p>\n

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4 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Feb. 5: The Florida Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk (left) and Tampa Bay Lightning’s Victor Hedman fight during the second period at Benchmark International Arena.<\/p>\n

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5 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Feb. 4: The St. Louis Blues’ Brayden Schenn fights with the Dallas Stars’ Justin Hryckowian during the second period at the American Airlines Center.<\/p>\n

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6 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Feb. 1: Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman fight during the second period of the 2026 Stadium Series game at Raymond James Stadium.<\/p>\n

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7 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Jan. 29: St. Louis Blues defenseman Tyler Tucker (left) fights Florida Panthers left wing A.J. Greer during the second period at Enterprise Center.<\/p>\n

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8 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Jan. 27: Vancouver Canucks forward Evander Kane (91) fights with San Jose Sharks defenseman Timothy Liljegren during the second period at Rogers Arena.<\/p>\n

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9 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Jan. 19: San Jose Sharks goalie Alex Nedeljkovic (left) fights Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena.<\/p>\n

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10 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Jan. 15: Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy (5) fights with Calgary Flames left wing Joel Farabee (86) during the second period at United Center.<\/p>\n

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11 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Jan. 15: Boston Bruins center Alex Steeves (21) and Seattle Kraken center Ryan Winterton (26) fight during the third period at TD Garden.<\/p>\n

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12 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Jan 10: Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin (74) checks Seattle Kraken right wing Kaapo Kakko (84) during the first period at Lenovo Center.<\/p>\n

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13 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Dec. 30: Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Matthew Knies (23) fights with New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier (13) during the third period at Scotiabank Arena.<\/p>\n

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14 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Dec. 20: Philadelphia Flyers left wing Nicolas Deslauriers (44) and New York Rangers left wing Brennan Othmann (78) are separated by officials and teammates after a fight during the second period at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n

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15 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Dec 8: Toronto Maple Leafs forward Dakota Joshua (81) and Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Maxwell Crozier (24) fight during the third period at Scotiabank Arena.<\/p>\n

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16 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Dec. 4: Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Bokondji Imama (14) and Tampa Bay Lightning center Curtis Douglas (42) fight in the first period at Benchmark International Arena.<\/p>\n

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17 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Dec. 1: New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler (71) and Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli (19) fight during the second period at Prudential Center.<\/p>\n

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18 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Nov. 28: New Jersey Devils right wing Stefan Noesen (11) and Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson (72) fight during the first period at KeyBank Center.<\/p>\n

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19 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Nov. 28: Philadelphia Flyers right wing Garnet Hathaway (19) checks New York Islanders center Casey Cizikas (53) during the second period at UBS Arena.<\/p>\n

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20 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Nov. 28: Winnipeg Jets center Jonathan Toews (19) checks Carolina Hurricanes center Justin Robidas (46) during the first period at Lenovo Center.<\/p>\n

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21 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Nov 24: Members of the New Jersey Devils and the Detroit Red Wings fight at the end of the third period at Prudential Center.<\/p>\n

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22 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Nov. 22: Florida Panthers left wing A.J. Greer (10) and Edmonton Oilers center Trent Frederic (10) fight during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena.<\/p>\n

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23 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Utah Mammoth center Jack McBain (22) and Vegas Golden Knights right wing Keegan Kolesar (55) fight during the third period at Delta Center.<\/p>\n

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24 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Nov. 16: The New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings engage in a major scrum after their game at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n

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25 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Nov. 6: Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal (11) fights Minnesota Wild center Tyler Pitlick (19) after his hit injured Carolina’s Jalen Chatfield.<\/p>\n

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26 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Nov. 6: Los Angeles Kings right wing Corey Perry (10) and Florida Panthers left wing A.J. Greer (10) fight during the third period at Crypto.com Arena.<\/p>\n

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27 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Nov. 6: Buffalo Sabres center Josh Dunne (44) and St. Louis Blues defenseman Tyler Tucker (75) fight during the first period at KeyBank Center.<\/p>\n

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28 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Nov 4: New York Islanders and Boston Bruins players get in a scrum after Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer (48) was roughed by Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov (91) during the second period.<\/p>\n

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29 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Nov. 1: Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Mathieu Olivier (24) fights St. Louis Blues defenseman Tyler Tucker (75) in the first period at Nationwide Arena.<\/p>\n

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30 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Nov 1: Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov (9) hits St. Louis Blues right wing Jordan Kyrou (25) along the boards in the third period at Nationwide Arena.<\/p>\n

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31 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Nov. 1: Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson (43) and Buffalo Sabres left wing Jordan Greenway (12) fight during the first period at KeyBank Center.<\/p>\n

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32 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Oct. 24: Calgary Flames right wing Adam Klapka (43) and Winnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley (64) fight in the first period at Canada Life Centre.<\/p>\n

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33 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Oct. 23: Boston Bruins left wing Tanner Jeannot (84) fights with Anaheim Ducks left wing Ross Johnston (44) during the second period at TD Garden.<\/p>\n

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34 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Oct. 21: Anaheim Ducks right wing Frank Vatrano (77) and Nashville Predators defenseman Adam Wilsby (83) fight during the third period at Bridgestone Arena.<\/p>\n

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35 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Oct. 18: Florida Panthers left wing Brad Marchand (63) is held back by a linesman after scuffling with Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. Marchand is holding Dahlin’s helmet and later pulled off the straps in the penalty box.<\/p>\n

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36 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Oct. 18: Tampa Bay Lightning center Curtis Douglas (42) and Columbus Blue Jackets center Mathieu Olivier (24) fight during the first period at Nationwide Arena.<\/p>\n

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37 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Oct. 16: Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Kaedan Korczak (6) checks Boston Bruins center Michael Eyssimont (81) during the first period at T-Mobile Arena.<\/p>\n

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38 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Oct 14: Dallas Stars defenseman Lian Bichsel (6) checks Minnesota Wild center Yakov Trenin (13) during the first period at the American Airlines Center.<\/p>\n

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39 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Oct. 11: Calgary Flames left wing Ryan Lomberg (70) and St. Louis Blues defenseman Tyler Tucker (75) fight during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome.<\/p>\n

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40 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Oct. 11: Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang (58) checks New York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin (10) during the first period at PPG Paints Arena.<\/p>\n

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41 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Oct. 11: Los Angeles Kings left wing Jeff Malott (39) and Winnipeg Jets defenseman Luke Schenn (5) fight during the first period at Canada Life Centre.<\/p>\n

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42 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Oct. 9: Vegas Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl (48) checks San Jose Sharks center Philipp Kurashev (96) at center ice during the third period at SAP Center.<\/p>\n

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43 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Oct. 9: Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh (43) and Ottawa Senators left wing Kurtis MacDermid (23) fight during the first period at Benchmark International Arena.<\/p>\n

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44 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Oct. 9: Carolina Hurricanes left wing Jordan Martinook (48) checks New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier (13) during the third period at Lenovo Center.<\/p>\n

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45 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Oct. 9: Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (26) checks New York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin (10) as he goes after a loose puck during the second period at KeyBank Center.<\/p>\n

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46 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Oct 7: Los Angeles Kings left wing Jeff Malott (39) points to Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog (92) after he finished fighting Josh Manson during the first period at Crypto.com Arena.<\/p>\n

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47 \/ 47<\/p>\n

NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits<\/p>\n

Oct. 7: Chicago’s Nick Foligno fights with Florida’s A.J. Greer during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena.<\/p>\n

What did the Florida Panthers accomplish?<\/p>\n

Now that the Panthers are out of the playoffs, here’s a look back at what they accomplished in recent years:<\/p>\n

Won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2021-22 but lost in the second round.<\/p>\n

Traded for Tkachuk in July 2022, recovered from a 3-1 series deficit against the record-setting Boston Bruins in the first round and reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1996. They lost in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights.<\/p>\n

Won four rounds in the 2025 playoffs despite lacking home-ice advantage and beat Edmonton again<\/a> for back-to-back titles.<\/p>\n

What’s next for the Florida Panthers?<\/p>\n

The Panthers’ position near the bottom of the NHL standings will be advantageous. They moved their 2026 first-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks to acquire Jones, but it’s top 10 protected so they should be able to hang onto it. This draft is considered deep.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Florida moved Jeff Petry at the trade deadline but retained Sergei Bobrovsky and other pending unrestricted free agents and will try to re-sign them.<\/p>\n

The Panthers had played 12 playoff rounds in the last three years, plus had heavy representation in the 4 Nations Face-Off and Olympics. A season out of the playoffs will help them rest and heal.<\/p>\n

Once Barkov returns, the Panthers will automatically be better. If Bobrovsky re-signs<\/a> and returns to form and Florida is able to avoid this season’s spate of injuries, it should be a Stanley Cup threat again.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Panthers eliminated from NHL playoff contention; why champs are out<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Florida Panthers‘ quest for a rare three-peat was almost over before it started. The two-time defending champions…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219299,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[54029,80916,25443,858,6502,14392,98863,15680,99284,99299,28,30,29,16995,99473,53656,99304,53655,15952,52046,99289,53657,54026,23274,16563],"class_list":{"0":"post-219298","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-aaron-ekblad","9":"tag-aleksander-barkov","10":"tag-anton-lundell","11":"tag-boston-bruins","12":"tag-brad-marchand","13":"tag-chicago-blackhawks","14":"tag-dmitry-kulikov","15":"tag-edmonton-oilers","16":"tag-eetu-luostarinen","17":"tag-evan-rodrigues","18":"tag-florida","19":"tag-florida-headlines","20":"tag-florida-news","21":"tag-florida-panthers","22":"tag-jeff-petry","23":"tag-matthew-tkachuk","24":"tag-niko-mikkola","25":"tag-paul-maurice","26":"tag-pittsburgh-penguins","27":"tag-playoff","28":"tag-sam-bennett","29":"tag-sergei-bobrovsky","30":"tag-seth-jones","31":"tag-the-panthers","32":"tag-vegas-golden-knights"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}