Panthers Crash Blackhawks

     The Florida Panthers rolled by the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 on Wednesday night at Amerant Bank Arena. The Panthers have won four of their past five games. The Blackhawks are now winless on the road this season at 0-6-1. 

     The Panthers wore their Hometown Remix pink uniforms for the second straight contest. Panthers center Lars Eller participated in his 1,200 NHL game. Blackhawks left wing Dillon Boucher made his NHL debut. 

     In the first period, Florida(9-5-2) raced out to a 1-0 lead at 4:43. Carter Verhaeghe connected a cross-ice pass from the left point. Sam Reinhart skated in and sent a diagonal pass from the right-circle dot. Sandis Vilmanis put in a wrist shot from the top of the crease by former Panthers goalie Spencer Knight for his second goal of the year. 

     It became 2-0 for the Panthers on the power play with 7:31 left in the first. Matthew Tkachuk zipped a pass from the right wing and Brady Tkachuk tapped it to the middle from the right side of the crease. Verhaeghe placed in a forehand shot from the left side of the crease for his ninth goal in the campaign. 

     The Cats increased their lead to 3-0 with 6:40 to go in the second period. Reinhart kicked the puck from the left corner and Vilmanis centered it from below the left circle. Former Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones snapped a shot from the right-circle dot for his third goal in 2026-27. The assist gave Vilmanis his first multi-point game of his NHL career. 

     Chicago(4-11-1) broke the shutout with 3:12 remaining in the second to make it 3-1. Connor Bedard angled a pass to his left from the blue line. Ethan Del Mastro passed it from the left wing and Roman Kantserov scored his seventh goal this season from the crease area with a wrist shot past Jacob Markstrom.  

     The Blackhawks got a shorthanded goal at the 9:35 mark in the third period and they closed it to 3-2. Del Mastro pushed the puck ahead and Cole Smith sent a lead pass ahead from his own zone. Frank Nazar went on a breakaway up the middle of the ice from the neutral zone, through the slot area and then slid a backhand shot from the top of the crease for his fourth tally this year. 

     Florida regained a two-goal margin 4-2 with 8:59 left in the third. Vilmanis collected his second goal of the contest and third goal of the season when he got to a loose puck and snapped a shot from the left circle. 

     Chicago cut the deficit to 4-3 with 3:51 remaining in the period. Bedard fired a shot from the inner right circle which was saved. Sam Rinzel angled a diagonal pass from the end wall and Nazar powered in a forehand shot from above the right circle for his second goal tonight. It was Nazar's second career two-goal game.

     The Blackhawks pulled their goalie from net for an extra skater with 2:10 to go. Reinhart scored an empty-net goal from the left circle with 1:27 left in the third for a 5-3 advantage. Reinhart extended his goal-scoring streak to four games with that tally. 

Marlins Dump Bradley Blalock

     The Miami Marlins have released pitcher Bradley Blalock. He was acquired by the Fish from the Colorado Rockies in January. 

     Blalock did make four relief appearances with the Marlins this past season. He finished up with a 5.56 earned run average. 

Miami Ratings October 2026

     Miami/Fort Lauderdale sports talk radio stations received their ratings. The time span went from the third week in September to the second week in October. 

     104.3 Sports WQAM-FM increased from a 1.4 to a 1.5 in the month. WQAM matched their ratings number of 1.5 at 560 WQAM-AM from December 2017, September 2024 and November 2024. Afternoon co-host and afternoon sports anchor Alejandro Solana was named the new assistant branding manager on October 2 taking over for their departed longtime program director Len Weiner. The University of Miami Hurricanes football team was undefeated to start the 2026 season with a 6-0 record with their next game against the Florida State University Seminoles. The Florida Panthers opened up the 2026-27 regular season. The Miami Heat were playing in the preseason. The Miami Marlins were eliminated from contention to get into the postseason and completed their season. 

     Fox Sports 940 WINZ-AM rose from a 0.3 to a 0.4 in the period. The Miami Dolphins began the 2025 season winless after five contests with a 0-5 record. The University of Florida Gators football team had a 4-2 record prior to their game with the University of Texas Longhorns. WZTU-FM-HD2 with the WINZ stream more than doubled from a 0.2 to a 0.5 for a new all-time record high. 

     Fox Sports 640 South Florida WMEN-AM shifted from a 0.1 to a 0.2 in the time span. The Florida Atlantic University Owls football team won four consecutive games following an opening game road loss to the University of Florida Gators for a 4-1 record. 

Glades Central xxxx Spanish River

     The Glades Central Raiders xxxx the Spanish River Sharks xx-xx in Boca Raton on Tuesday night. This game was postponed last month due to inclement weather.  The Raiders came into this contest off their third straight Muck Bowl victory over the Pahokee Blue Devils.

     It was unusual that the Raiders finished their 2026 regular season this way tonight. They have always faced the Pahokee in the Muck Bowl to end the regular season except in 2020. 

     Glades Central(4-5)

     Spanish River(5-4)

Marlins Add Cameron Weston

     The Miami Marlins have decided to bring a player in on their roster. The Fish have claimed pitcher Cameron Weston off waivers from the New York Mets. 

     Weston began the 2026 season in the Baltimore Orioles minor league system. He did make his MLB debut this year and pitched just one contest with the Orioles. He was claimed by the Mets off waivers in September and stayed with their Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse. 

Graham Pauley Gone From Marlins

     Miami Marlins infielder Graham Pauley was claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox. He saw action mainly as a third baseman during the 2026 regular season. 

     Pauley spent the past two seasons with the Fish in 2025 and 2026. He compiled eight home runs, 36 runs batted in and a .218 batting average in 124 games with the Marlins. 

Josh White Claimed By Orioles

     Miami Marlins pitcher Josh White is no longer with the organization. He was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles.

     White was selected in the fifth round of the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft. He had one pitching appearance with the Fish in 2026 for his MLB debut. White surrendered five runs in 2/3 innings for a 67.50 earned run average.