Aleksander Barkov King Clancy Trophy Nominee

     The Florida Panthers have nominated center Aleksander Barkov for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The announcement was made by the National Hockey League on Wednesday. 

     All NHL teams nominated one player for the award. The King Clancy Memorial Trophy went to Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne last season. 

Capitals Surprise Panthers In Game 1

     The Florida Panthers lost to the Washington Capitals 4-2 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at FLA Live Arena on Tuesday night. The Capitals lead the best-of-seven series 1-0. 

     The Panthers lost the opening contest of a playoff series for the sixth consecutive time. The Cats have not won a Game 1 contest since 1997 against the New York Rangers at Miami Arena. 

     The Cats blew a lead to begin the third period for the first time in 2021-22. They had a 39-0-1 record in the same circumstance during the regular season. 

     Florida opened up the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the top seed in the Eastern Conference and the National Hockey League. The Panthers and Capitals will play Game 2 on Thursday night. 

     Washington got out in front 1-0 at the 3:48 mark on the power play. Justin Schultz pushed the puck from the low left circle. Anthony Mantha took a close-range shot that was saved. Tom Wilson followed with a snap shot past Sergei Bobrovsky from the slot area.

     Florida answered back with 2:05 left in the first to tie it up 1-1. Sam Bennett skated into the Caps zone and snapped a shot from the high slot by Vitek Vanecek. Radko Gudas and Carter Verhaeghe were credited with assists on the play. 

     The Panthers took a 2-1 lead just 43 seconds into the second period. Brandon Montour relased a wrist shot which was stopped, however Claude Giroux got to the puck and scored with a backhand shot from the left of the crease. Jonathan Huberdeau picked up the secondary assist on the play. 

     In the third period, the Capitals evened it 2-2 at the 8:14 mark. Alex Ovechkin poked-check the puck away from MacKenzie Weegar at the Panthers blue line. Evgeny Kuznetsov skated through the middle of the ice and rifled a snap shot from the low slot. 

     The Caps reclaimed the lead 3-2 with 9:23 remaining in the third. Nicholas Backstrom made a lead pass from the left circle and T.J. Oshie redirected it in from the crease area. 

     The Cats pulled their goalie for an extra attacker with 1:30 to go in the frame. It did not work as Lars Eller scored an empty-net goal from inside the Capitals blue line with 39 seconds left to make it 4-2.  

Tyler Herro Wins Sixth Man Of The Year Award

     Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro won the NBA Kia Sixth Man of the Year Award for the 2021-22 season on Tuesday. He is the first player in Heat history to receive this honor. 

     Herro averaged 20.7 points, five rebounds and four assists in 66 regular season games this season. He received 96 first-place votes, 2 second-place votes and two third-place votes among 100 National Basketball Association media members. Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love ended up second and Phoenix Suns forward Cameron Johnson took third. 

Diamondbacks Topple Marlins

     The Miami Marlins fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 on Tuesday night at loanDepot park. Miami(12-10) extended their losing streak to a season-high three games and finish their six-game homestand tomorrow before they head out west to San Diego. 

     Arizona(12-13) got out 1-0 in the top of the second. Christian Walker smashed a solo homer to center field on the first pitch for his sixth home run of the season. 

     The Diamondbacks increased it to 2-0 in the third inning. Palm Beach Gardens High School grad Pavin Smith connected with a 1-0 count for a solo home run over the right-center field wall and off the upper-deck facade. 

     The Dbacks added three more runs in the top of the fifth for a five-run gap. Ketel Marte belted a ground-rule double to left field for Cooper Hummel to score. Walker followed with a two-run double into left field for Jordan Luplow and Marte to reach home. 

     Miami(12-11) piled up four runs during the bottom of the seventh and trailed 5-4. Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a ground-rule double down the right field which brought in Garrett Cooper and Brian Anderson.  Jesus Aguilar then drove in Jacob Stallings and Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a double through the left side.  

Diamondbacks Pounce Marlins

     The Arizona Diamondbacks jumped on the Miami Marlins 5-4 at loanDepot park on Monday night. The Marlins have lost two straight contests following a seven-game winning streak.

     Daulton Varsho led off the first inning with a double off the top of the right-field wall for the Diamondbacks. Two batters later, David Peralta ripped a two-run homer over the right-center field fence on the first pitch for his third home run of the season. Marlins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez had his consecutive scoreless innings streak end at 18 2/3 on that play. 

     Arizona(11-13) added two more runs during the top of the fifth to move ahead 4-0. Jordan Luplow drove in Varsho on a base hit into right field. Peralta followed with a single to center field that scored Luplow. 

     Miami(12-10) fell behind 5-0 in the top of the seventh. Luplow picked up another RBI-single, this time to center field, which brought in Geraldo Perdomo. 

     The Marlins cut the deficit to 5-4 in the bottom of the frame. Jazz Chisholm Jr. lined a double to the right-field warning track for Avisail Garcia and Garrett Cooper to score. Jesus Aguilar came up next with an infield single to the left side and Jacob Stallings along with Chisholm reached home. 

Heat Top Sixers In Game 1

     The Miami Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers 106-92 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at FTX Arena on Monday night. Kyle Lowry did not dress in the contest for Miami while Joel Embiid did not play for Philadelphia. The Heat and Sixers will play Game 2 on Wednesday.

     Miami stormed out to a 30-22 at the end of the first quarter. Philadelphia went on a 19-7 spurt at the end of the second quarter to lead 51-50 at halftime. The Heat took over and had an 80-72 advantage after three quarters. Miami began the fourth quarter with an 18-7 run and pulled away. 

     Tyler Herro helped the Heat with a team-high 25 points and seven assists. Bam Adebayo compiled a double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds. Jimmy Butler fell short of a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds. Gabe Vincent and P.J. Tucker both contributed 10 points each. 

     Tobias Harris led the 76ers with a game-high 27 points and six rebounds. Tyrese Maxey dropped in 19 points in the defeat. James Harden almost got a double-double with 16 points along with nine rebounds. 

Lopez And Chisholm On MLB Team Of The Month

     Two Miami Marlins players were selected to the Major League Baseball April Team of the Month. They are starting pitcher Pablo Lopez and second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. Miami had a 12-8 during the month of April. 

     Lopez had a 0.39 earned run average in his first four starts of the 2022 regular season. It turned out to be the lowest mark in Marlins franchise history. He became the 12th pitcher in MLB history to surrender one run or less in at least 20 innings during his first four starts to begin a season. 

     Chisholm had a .310 batting average with four home runs, 15 runs batted in, three doubles, three triples and four stolen bases in 17 games. He also had a 1.026 OPS in the first month of the season.