Panthers Fly By Red Wings

     The Florida Panthers swept a two-game set with a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday night at Little Caesars Arena. The Panthers have not yet lost a game in regulation and extended their point streak to six games. 

     The Red Wings are winless in their last six contests with a 0-4-2 record. The Panthers, who defeated Detroit for the eighth straight time, were victorious in regulation for the first time since their season opener against the Chicago Blackhawks on January 17. 

     Detroit(2-6-2) got the only tally in the first period. Dylan Larkin collected his fourth goal of the season at the 4:12 mark past Chris Driedger. 

     Florida(5-0-1) overtook their opponents with two power-play goals during the second. Patric Hornqvist got his fifth goal with his new club at 2:03 and Aaron Ekblad gave the Cats the lead 2-1 with 4:56 left in the period. 

     It became a two-goal lead for the Panthers early in the third period. Carter Verhaeghe chalked up his fifth goal of the campaign at the 8:09. 

     The Red Wings pulled their goalie Thomas Greiss for an extra skater late in the game. Anthony Mantha scored with 1:48 remaining in the third and they trailed 3-2. 

Panthers Defeat Red Wings In Overtime

     The Florida Panthers squeezed by the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in overtime at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night. The Panthers increased their point streak to five games since they opened the 2020-21 season. 

     The Cats won their seventh consecutive game against the Red Wings. The Panthers are 8-0-1 in their last nine contests versus Detroit. 

     Both teams combined for four goals in the first period. Florida(4-0-1) scored a power-play goal just 3:06 into the contest. Aaron Ekblad sent the puck down to Jonathan Huberdeau in the low left circle. He centered it and Aleksander Barkov put in a one-time shot from the low slot. Barkov tied Scott Mellanby for second all-time in Panthers history with his 157th career goal. 

     Detroit(2-5-2) tied it up 1-1 at the 15:02 mark. Taro Hirose backhanded a shot from the right wing that was deflected by Vladislav Namestnikov in the right of the crease and Anthony Mantha scored on a snap shot from the low slot.

     The Red Wings took the lead 2-1 with 3:01 remaining in the period. Dylan Larkin took a slap shot from the right circle which was saved by Sergei Bobrovsky, but Tyler Bertuzzi smacked in the rebound from the top of the crease for his fifth goal of the season. 

     The Panthers added another goal on the man advantage with under one second left in the first to even it up 2-2. Keith Yandle compiled his second goal of the campaign on a wrist shot from the low right circle with assists from Patric Hornqvist and Barkov. 

     In overtime, Florida got the victory at 2:45. Anthony Duclair carried the puck through the right circle, made a cross-ice pass and Aleksi Heponiemi got his first career goal in his first NHL game with a tap-in shot. He became the fourth player in NHL history to score an overtime goal in his NHL debut. Heponiemi is the fifth Panthers rookie to score an overtime tally. 

Heat Survive Kings

     The Miami Heat got by the Sacramento Kings 105-104 on Saturday night at American Airlines Arena. The Heat snapped a five-game losing streak. 

     Sacramento(8-11) had a 35-24 lead at the end of one quarter and had a 59-57 edge at halftime. Miami(7-12) moved ahead 84 -77 after three quarters and were able to hold off the Kings late in the fourth. 

     Jimmy Butler returned to the Heat lineup after missing the last 10 games with a club-high 30 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Bam Adebayo compiled a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds while Tyler Herro knocked down 15 points. Duncan Robinson was able to contribute 14 points in the winning effort. 

     De'Aaron Fox led the Kings with 30 points and six assists. Buddy Hield had 18 points and Marvin Bagley III drained in 17 points. 

West Palm Beach Holiday Ratings 2020

     The ratings were released for sports format radio stations in the West Palm Beach market. The time span went from the first week of December to the first week of January. 

     Fox Sports 640 South Florida WMEN-AM remained at a 0.2 in the holiday period. The Florida Atlantic University football season ended with their first loss ever in a bowl game while the FAU basketball season was in full swing. 

     Sports Radio 1230 The Zone WBZT-AM rose from a 0.0 to a 0.2 in the period. They have been at a 0.0 mark since March. The station continued to depend on University of Florida basketball and football game broadcasts. 

Ryan Lomberg Put On Waivers

     The Florida Panthers have placed forward Ryan Lomberg on waivers. He left the Calgary Flames and signed as a free agent with Florida back in October. 

     Lomberg played in just the season opener for the Panthers against the Chicago Blackhawks on January 17. He was on the ice for 11:27 and had no points. 

Clippers Move By Heat

     The Los Angeles Clippers breezed by the Miami Heat 109-105 at American Airlines Arena on Thursday night. The Heat, who lost their fifth straight contest, have the third worst record in the Eastern Conference while the Clippers have the third best record in the NBA.

     Miami(6-12) blasted out to a 33-19 advantage after one quarter and stayed in front 50-48 at halftime. Los Angeles(14-5) outscored the Heat 40-19 and pulled ahead 88-69 at the end of three quarters. The Heat placed in the first ten points of the fourth and trailed 88-79 with 9:55 remaining. They came as close as 107-104 with 21.8 seconds left. 

     The Heat got several double-doubles in the defeat. Tyler Herro had 19 points and 10 rebounds while Bam Adebayo put together 16 points and 13 rebounds. Gabe Vincent came off the bench with 18 points.

     Nicolas Batum dropped in 18 points and Lou Williams scored 17 points for the Clippers. Reggie Jackson contributed 16 points along with eight rebounds. Serge Ibaka compiled 10 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double. 

Blue Jackets End Panthers Winning Streak

     The Florida Panthers had their franchise record season-opening, three-game winning streak snapped by the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 in a shootout on Thursday night at Nationwide Arena. Both teams ended up splitting the two-game set with shootout victories. 

     Mikko Koivu scored his first goal in a Columbus(3-2-3) jersey as the Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead with 2:57 remaining in the opening frame. Eric Robinson carried the puck around the net. He centered it and Koivu who put a wrist shot from the low slot past Chris Driedger. 

     Florida(3-0-1) tied it up 1-1 with 2:46 left in the second period. Alexandre Texier gave the puck away in his defensive zone. Anthony Duclair rushed through the right circle and his shot from close range was saved by Elvis Merzlikins. Carter Verhaeghe gathered the rebound at the top of the crease and scored his fourth goal of the season.  

     In the third period, the Blue Jackets got a power-play goal at 6:19 and reclaimed the lead 2-1. Max Domi the faceoff in the right circle and steered the puck to the blue line. Zach Werenski passed the puck to the top right circle and Domi blasted a one-time slap shot for his first goal with Columbus. 

     The Panthers matched it again 2-2 with 7:04 to go in the third. Anton Stralman snapped a shot from the top right circle which was stopped, however Eetu Luostarinen smacked in the rebound from inside the blue paint for his second tally of the campaign. Markus Nutivaara made his debut with Florida and picked up the secondary assist on the play. 

     Columbus got the only conversion during the shootout. Texier raced toward the cage and one-handed a shovel shot by Driedger on the Blue Jackets fourth attempt. It was the first shootout Driedger played in his NHL career.