Lightning Rough Up Panthers

     The Tampa Bay Lightning blanked the Florida Panthers 4-0 on Monday night at Amerant Bank Arena. The Panthers, who had their four-game winning streak snapped, are now 10-3-1 in their last 14 games. The Lightning have won four of their last five contests.  

     Both clubs faced each other in back-to-back nights. The Panthers are off through the Christmas break until Saturday. 

     Tampa Bay(19-11-2) broke out to a 1-0 lead on a 4-on-4 situation at the 6:56 mark. Anthony Cirelli backhanded a pass from the left corner. Victor Hedman sent a square pass from the left wing. Nikita Kucherov raced through the slot area and lifted a backhand shot from the low slot by Sergei Bobrovsky for his 15th goal of the season. 

     The Bolts made it 2-0 at 9:20. Brandon Hagel entered the Panthers zone and dropped a pass above the left circle. Jake Guentzel placed in a wrist shot from the high slot for his 19th goal of the campaign. Hedman was credited with the secondary assist on the sequence. 

     It became 3-0 for the Lightning with 3:36 left in the first on a power-play goal. Nick Paul fed a pass from the right circle to Cirelli at the top of the zone. His slap shot was saved and Michael Chaffee put in a rebound shot from the top of the crease for his seventh tally this year. 

     Neither team scored in the second period. Florida(22-12-2) pulled their goalie on a power play with over six minutes remaining in the third period. Hagel would put in an empty-net goal with 5:42 left in the third for a Tampa Bay four-goal advantage. 

Heat Handle Nets

     The Miami Heat knocked off the Brooklyn Nets 110-95 at Kaseya Center on Monday night. The Heat will not play again until Thursday.

     Miami(14-13) had a 39-28 lead at the conclusion of the first quarter. The Heat would barely lead at halftime 58-57.  

     Brooklyn(11-18) stayed in striking distance during the third quarter and were down 83-78 at the end of the frame. The Heat began the fourth quarter with a 7-2 spurt and remained in front. 

     Bam Adebayo led Miami with a game-high 23 points along with seven rebounds. Tyler Herro fell short of a triple-double with 17 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Duncan Robinson placed in 17 points while Nikola Jovic came off the bench with 18 points. 

     Noah Clowney and Cameron Johnson both collected 19 points each for Brooklyn. Ben Simmons was held to just four points. 

Marlins Trade Jesus Luzardo

     The Miami Marlins have traded left-handed starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo and minor league catcher Paul McIntosh to the Philadelphia Phillies in a four-player deal. The Fish will receive back shortstop minor league prospect Starlyn Caba and minor league outfielder Emaarion Boyd. 

     Luzardo spent the past four seasons with the Marlins following his trade from the Oakland A's in July 2021 for Starling Marte. He finished the Miami portion of his career with a 21-28 record, 444 strikeouts and a 4.15 earned run average in 74 starts. 

Panthers Crawl By Lightning

     The Florida Panthers moved by the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 at Amalie Arena on Sunday. The Panthers have won four straight contests and 10 of their last 13 games. The Bolts had their four-game winning streak snapped. Florida forward Rasmus Asplund made his team debut and had no points. 

     It was a renewal of their cross-state rivalry that has intensified over the past six seasons. Both teams will face each other in Sunrise tomorrow night. 

     Florida(22-11-2) had a 1-0 lead on the power play with 4:09 to go in the opening frame. Sam Reinhart collected his 21st goal of the season on a tip-in shot. 

     Tampa Bay(18-11-2) then tied the contest 1-1 with five seconds remaining in the first period. Nick Paul got his eighth goal of the year on a wrist shot. 

     The second period would belong to the Cats as they expanded their lead to 3-1. A.J. Greer chalked up his fourth tally this year on a shorthanded goal with a backhand shot with 9:32 left. Eetu Luostarinen another shorthanded goal just 42 seconds later for his fifth goal in 2024-25. 

     In the third period, the Lightning cut it to 3-2 at the 3:26 mark. Brayden Point found the net with a wrist shot for his 22nd goal of the season 

     Reinhart completed the victory 4-2 scoring an empty-net goal with 31 seconds remaining. It was his second goal of the game and his 22nd goal this season. 

Dolphins Boot 49ers

     The Miami Dolphins pushed by the San Francisco 49ers 29-17 at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday. The Dolphins are close to being eliminated from postseason contention. The 49ers, who were eliminated from making the postseason, last won a Super Bowl at the same venue almost 30 years ago. 

     There was only one score in the first quarter. Jason Sanders gave Miami(7-8) a 3-0 advantage on a 44-yard field goal with 3:30 left in the first. 

     In the second quarter, San Francisco(6-9) took the lead 7-3 at the 14:14 mark. Quarterback Brock Purdy connected a 16-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. on the left hash marks. The Fins closed it to 7-6 when Sanders booted a 38-yard field goal at 9:40.

     The Dolphins leaped to a 13-7 lead with 3:20 to go in the second. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa tossed a three-yard pass to wide receiver Tyreek Hill on the left side. The Niners cut it to 13-10 with 47 seconds remaining in the first half when Jake Moody kicked a 21-yard field goal. 

     Miami would get two field goals during the third quarter from Sanders to make it 19-10. He made a 54-yard field goal at 10:57 and a 33-yard field goal at 1:08. 

     The 49ers closed it to 19-17 at the 12:02 mark of the fourth quarter. Tight end Eric Saubert caught a two-yard touchdown pass from Purdy in the middle of the end zone. 

     The rest of the final quarter belonged to the Dolphins. Sanders kicked his fifth field goal of the contest, this one being from 48 yards, with 2:10 remaining. He set a new franchise record of 23 consecutive field goals made breaking his previous mark. Running back De'Von Achane later rushed through the right side from 50 yards away for a score with 1:36 left to give the Fins a 29-17 lead. 

Magic Trick Heat

     The Miami Heat blew a 22-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter and lost to the Orlando Magic 121-114 at Kia Center on Saturday night. The Heat were playing one of their last games before the holiday break. 

     Miami(13-13) rocketed out to a 40-28 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Heat continued their dominance in the second quarter and had a 76-56 halftime lead. 

     It remained the same as Miami was up 106-84 at the conclusion of the third quarter. It was an outrageous turnaround as Orlando(18-12) outscored the Heat 37-8 during the fourth quarter to shockingly win the contest. The Magic moved ahead 110-109 with 2:43 left in the final quarter. 

     Bam Adebayo and Terry Rozier shared the scoring output with a team-high 23 points each. Tyler Herro was able to contribute 22 points for Miami. 

     Cole Anthony came off the bench for Orlando with a game-high 35 points along with nine assists. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope dropped in 24 points. 

Marlins Get Eric Wagaman

     The Miami Marlins have signed third baseman Eric Wagaman to a one-year contract. He will get the opportunity to make the team's roster in spring training. 

     Wagaman made his Major League Baseball debut with the Los Angeles Angels this year. He ended up with two home runs, 10 runs batted in and a .250 batting average during 18 games in 2024.