Panthers falter on home ice in Game 3, Tampa Bay picks up first win of series

Apr 26, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; a shot from Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Nick Paul (20) (not pictured) goes past Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) for a goal in the second period during game three of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. (Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images)

The Florida Panthers had a chance to put a stranglehold on their opening round series with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday in Sunrise.

Instead, the Lightning came up with a big road victory in Game 3, their first win of the series, by a score of 5-1 at Amerant Bank Arena.

While the day ultimately belonged to Tampa, it didn’t take long for the Panthers to open the scoring and send their fans into a frenzy.

Sam Bennett drove toward the net after pulling the puck off the boards, but his stick was lifted just as he went to release a shot.

The puck instead slid to Matthew Tkachuk on the opposite side of the crease and all he had to do was just taaaap it in to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead at the 2:43 mark.

Later in the period, with 2:45 to go, Jake Guentzel took a pass from Nikita Kucherov and dangled through the slot before firing a shot that hit Brayden Point on its way past Sergei Bobrovsky to tie the game at one.

Moments after Florida killed off a Tampa power play late in the second period, the Bolts would take their first lead of the game.

With Brad Marchand hustling to the bench after his stick broke mid-shift, Nick Paul found space in the right circle and fired a shot that seemed to handcuff Bobrovsky. It went off his left pad and trickled into the net, giving the Lightning a 2-1 lead with 6:43 to go in the middle frame.

Guenzel scored his first of the game and second of the series just 21 seconds into the third period on a funky play that had Bobrovsky looking the wrong direction and playing without a stick.

Tampa had three goals despite being outshot 26-17 at that point of the game.

A rush goal late in the period by Luke Glendening and an empty-net goal by Anthony Cirelli shortly after would seal the win for the Lightning.

On to Game 4.

QUICK THOUGHTS

We’re still waiting for our first home win of this series.

Tkachuk is up to two goals and four points so far during the playoffs.

Sam Bennett had the primary assist on Tkachuk's goal. Bennett has points (two goals and two assists) in all three playoff games so far.

Florida’s penalty kill went 5-for-5 on Saturday and has killed off 12 of Tampa Bay’s 13 power plays this series.

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Brewers place Mitchell on IL, promote Cameron from Triple-A Nashville

ST. LOUIS — The Milwaukee Brewers placed center fielder Garrett Mitchell on the 10-day injured list Saturday.

After an MRI, Mitchell was diagnosed with a left oblique strain.

Mitchell started in right field Friday night. He left the game, a 3-2 Milwaukee loss to St. Louis, after the fourth inning. After the game, Mitchell said he hurt it on one of his swings in his lone at-bat in the second inning when he grounded out to shortstop Masyn Winn.

The Brewers have selected the contract of left fielder Daz Cameron from Triple-A Nashville.

Cameron, 28, was acquired by the Brewers from Baltimore on April 7. In 10 games with Nashville, Cameron is hitting .372 with five homers, 16 RBI, nine runs scored and three steals.

Cameron is the son of former major leaguer Mike Cameron, a former Brewer. In his 16-year career, the elder Cameron also played for the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins and Washington Nationals.

The Brewers also transferred center fielder Blake Perkins from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injury list. Perkins is out with an injured right shin.

Saturday's Mets-Nationals game delayed due to rain

After the start of Saturday afternoon's game between the Mets and Washington Nationals at Nationals Park was delayed due to inclement weather, the matchup between NL East teams did not get far before it was stopped because of rain.

Originally a 4:05 p.m. start time, the game was pushed back to 4:30 p.m.. However, with one out in the bottom of the first, rain began to pour at Nationals Park, forcing the umpires to stop play and the grounds crew to come out with the tarp. The game was just 13 minutes in when the stoppage occurred.

The rain delay lasted about 45 minutes and resumed at 5:30 p.m.

After the Mets' bullpen blew the save on Friday night in the team's 5-4 loss, New York will look to bounce back with Clay Holmes on the mound. The former closer made his sixth start with the Mets this season, and looks to put up another quality outing. In his last two starts, Holmes has allowed just two runs over 11 innings while striking out 14 batters.

Saturday will see Jeff McNeil, who just returned to the team on Friday after starting the season on the IL, playing in center field for the first time since 2023. With McNeil starting in the outfield, Luisangel Acuña got the start at second base.

Francisco Alvarez, who also returned to the team after an IL stint on Friday, started for the second straight game.

Wild's Marcus Johansson Out For Game 4 With Lower-Body Injury

Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images.

ST. PAUL - Wild head coach John Hynes confirmed before Saturday's Game 4 clash with the Vegas Golden Knights that forward Marcus Johansson will not play. He is out with a lower-body injury. 

Johansson, 34, has one assist in three games this playoffs so far. He got hit a few times in the third period and did not return to the third period for the last 13 minutes. 

Hynes said that Vinnie Hinostroza would enter the lineup to replace Johansson. He won't play on the second line though. 

We will see in warmups what the lines shake out to be, but it will probably be Gustav Nyquist on the second line to take Johansson's spot. Hinostroza would then take Nyquist's spot on the third line. 

2 big Phillies rallies and more Luzardo excellence snaps the losing streak

2 big Phillies rallies and more Luzardo excellence snaps the losing streak originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

CHICAGO — The Phillies hadn’t homered in five days and knew it would be extremely difficult for either team to hit one out of Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon.

It was 47 degrees at first pitch and the wind was blowing in 15-20 mph from left field, making it even more important for both lineups to focus on passing the baton. The Phillies finally did, rallying for six runs in the fourth inning and three in the sixth of a 10-4 win over the Cubs.

“It might take a bloop hit at some point and then it kind of just explodes,” manager Rob Thomson said Friday evening after the Phillies’ losing streak reached five.

Those words were prescient because it was Max Kepler’s bloop into no-man’s land in shallow left field that scored the Phillies’ first run Saturday and reloaded the bases ahead of an Alec Bohm RBI single, Johan Rojas sacrifice fly, Bryson Stott RBI single and Bryce Harper two-run double.

“I don’t remember what the last week was like but that fourth inning was great,” Kepler said. “Started off, me and J.T. (Realmuto) had some duck-fart knocks and then, yeah, we opened it up. That’s the game of baseball, you don’t really have to square ’em up every time but just try to make something happen to rally around.

“That’s what we’ve been looking for, to rally together. When we try to do the small things, big things happen. That inning started with some not-so-impressive hits but they got the job done and got us where we needed it to be.”

The Phillies have put a ton of runners on base this season and have a Top 3 team OBP but the explosions have been few and far between. A big hit with men on base has eluded them since Sunday. The situational struggles have been exacerbated by them hitting just one home run in a span of 296 plate appearances before Kepler went deep in the seventh.

The fourth inning Saturday was the Phillies’ best of the season. Facing Ben Brown, the former pitching prospect they traded to Chicago for David Robertson in 2022, the Phils had five hits with a runner in scoring position, their most in any inning since last August 15 against the Nationals.

Jesus Luzardo followed with a 1-2-3 bottom half and the 14-13 Phillies won for the first time in a week.

Luzardo has exceeded all expectations through six starts with a 1.73 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. He’s kept the Phillies squarely in each game and been a godsend to a rotation that hasn’t yet had Ranger Suarez or an effective Aaron Nola.

“He’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet until he gets on that hill, and then he turns into a different guy,” Thomson said. “”He’s been outstanding. Looking at him from across the field, I think I appreciate him more that I can see him every day and what he does, the stuff that he has, the way he goes about his business.”

Luzardo did not allow a hit until the bottom of the fifth, a strong performance in his first start against the Cubs since their reported decision to back out of an offseason trade for him. The Cubs had concerns about Luzardo’s back and elbow, according to The Athletic, and the Phillies swooped in to do the deal themselves.

“Oh, he’s been dealing,” Kepler said. “You see his name on the sheet for the upcoming game and it gives you a reassuring feeling.”

Luzardo’s only troublesome frame was the fifth when Trea Turner committed a two-out error with nobody on base, which led to two Cubs runs and forced the lefty to throw 19 additional pitches. Turner has had a couple of rough moments in the field in this series. He whiffed on a tag at second base when Realmuto had a base-stealer out by a wide margin on Friday and committed his third error of the year in the middle game.

The shortstop did make up for it, though, with an RBI single up the middle the half-inning after his miscue. Turner crushed the ball over 104 mph in both his third and fourth at-bats, a good sign for a player who’s hitting .245 with just five extra-base hits.

Kepler also seems to be finding a rhythm at the plate. He went 3-for-5 with a solo home run to right field, the only location a ball was leaving the yard on Saturday. The left fielder is 10-for-26 (.385) with two doubles and a homer over his last seven games.

“Starting to see it, starting to believe in what I work on in the cage,” he said. “Just taking my swings, not trying to reach for balls or poke. Just hunting my zones.”

It’s just a 13-game sample but Kepler has done major damage at Wrigley Field, hitting .391 with four homers, three doubles and 10 RBI. He hadn’t even realized.

“I didn’t even know that, usually I’m freezing my ass off and just trying to get a quick game in,” he said. “But it’s a great place to play, it’s like Fenway, it’s magical. It’s an honor to stand in one of these ballparks.”

The Phillies go for the series win on Sunday Night Baseball. It should be about 10 degrees warmer at first pitch but will be another chilly night for Aaron Nola to try to find his command.

2 big Phillies rallies and more Luzardo excellence snaps the losing streak

2 big Phillies rallies and more Luzardo excellence snaps the losing streak originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

CHICAGO — The Phillies hadn’t homered in five days and knew it would be extremely difficult for either team to hit one out of Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon.

It was 47 degrees at first pitch and the wind was blowing in 15-20 mph from left field, making it even more important for both lineups to focus on passing the baton. The Phillies finally did, rallying for six runs in the fourth inning and three in the sixth of a 10-4 win over the Cubs.

“It might take a bloop hit at some point and then it kind of just explodes,” manager Rob Thomson said Friday evening after the Phillies’ losing streak reached five.

Those words were prescient because it was Max Kepler’s bloop into no-man’s land in shallow left field that scored the Phillies’ first run Saturday and reloaded the bases ahead of an Alec Bohm RBI single, Johan Rojas sacrifice fly, Bryson Stott RBI single and Bryce Harper two-run double.

“I don’t remember what the last week was like but that fourth inning was great,” Kepler said. “Started off, me and J.T. (Realmuto) had some duck-fart knocks and then, yeah, we opened it up. That’s the game of baseball, you don’t really have to square ’em up every time but just try to make something happen to rally around.

“That’s what we’ve been looking for, to rally together. When we try to do the small things, big things happen. That inning started with some not-so-impressive hits but they got the job done and got us where we needed it to be.”

The Phillies have put a ton of runners on base this season and have a Top 3 team OBP but the explosions have been few and far between. A big hit with men on base has eluded them since Sunday. The situational struggles have been exacerbated by them hitting just one home run in a span of 296 plate appearances before Kepler went deep in the seventh.

The fourth inning Saturday was the Phillies’ best of the season. Facing Ben Brown, the former pitching prospect they traded to Chicago for David Robertson in 2022, the Phils had five hits with a runner in scoring position, their most in any inning since last August 15 against the Nationals.

Jesus Luzardo followed with a 1-2-3 bottom half and the 14-13 Phillies won for the first time in a week.

Luzardo has exceeded all expectations through six starts with a 1.73 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. He’s kept the Phillies squarely in each game and been a godsend to a rotation that hasn’t yet had Ranger Suarez or an effective Aaron Nola.

“He’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet until he gets on that hill, and then he turns into a different guy,” Thomson said. “He’s been outstanding. Looking at him from across the field, I think I appreciate him more now that I can see him every day and what he does, the stuff that he has, the way he goes about his business.”

Luzardo did not allow a hit until the bottom of the fifth, a strong performance in his first start against the Cubs since their reported decision to back out of an offseason trade for him. The Cubs had concerns about Luzardo’s back and elbow, according to The Athletic, and the Phillies swooped in to do the deal themselves.

“Oh, he’s been dealing,” Kepler said. “You see his name on the sheet for the upcoming game and it gives you a reassuring feeling.”

Luzardo’s only troublesome frame was the fifth when Trea Turner committed a two-out error with nobody on base, which led to two Cubs runs and forced the lefty to throw 19 additional pitches. Turner has had a couple of rough moments in the field in this series. He whiffed on a tag at second base when Realmuto had a base-stealer out by a wide margin on Friday and committed his third error of the year in the middle game.

The shortstop did make up for it, though, with an RBI single up the middle the half-inning after his miscue. Turner crushed the ball over 104 mph in both his third and fourth at-bats, potentially a good sign for a player who’s hitting .245 with just five extra-base hits.

Kepler seems to be finding a rhythm at the plate. He went 3-for-5 with a solo home run to right field, the only location a ball had a chance of leaving the yard on Saturday. The left fielder is 10-for-26 (.385) with two doubles and a homer over his last seven games.

“Starting to see it, starting to believe in what I work on in the cage,” he said. “Just taking my swings, not trying to reach for balls or poke. Just hunting my zones.”

It’s just a 13-game sample but Kepler has done major damage at Wrigley Field, hitting .391 with four homers, three doubles and 10 RBI. He hadn’t even realized.

“I didn’t even know that, usually I’m freezing my ass off and just trying to get a quick game in,” he said. “But it’s a great place to play, it’s like Fenway, it’s magical. It’s an honor to stand in one of these ballparks.”

The Phillies go for the series win on Sunday Night Baseball. It should be about 10 degrees warmer at first pitch but will be another chilly night for Nola to try to find his command.

Psychodrama of José Mourinho’s ‘most beautiful defeat’ changed game for ever | Jonathan Wilson

As Inter and Barcelona meet again in a Champions League semi-final, it’s hard to ignore their epochal clash in 2010

Has there been a Champions League tie since that has felt more consequential? As Inter travel to Barcelona for Wednesday’s semi-final first leg, the mind turns inevitably to their 1-0 reverse at the Camp Nou 15 years ago – “the most beautiful defeat of my career” as José Mourinho has described it.

Playing with 10 men for a little over an hour, Inter secured a 3-2 aggregate victory. Suddenly it became apparent that it didn’t matter whether you had the ball or not: you could win even with 19% possession. But the outcome was only part of it. The whole tie was played out amid an apocalyptic atmosphere symbolised by the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull, whose eruption made it impossible to fly over western Europe, forcing Barcelona to travel to Milan for the first leg by bus.

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Bruce Boudreau Believes The Jets Are The Real Deal, Rooting For Them To Win The Stanley Cup

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The Winnipeg Jets entered the playoffs with the best regular-season record (56-22-4), winning the Presidents’ Trophy and looking utterly dominant in front of Hart Trophy Candidate, Connor Hellebuyck. Despite that, many fans and analysts still do not believe the Jets can win the Stanley Cup.

Longtime NHL head coach Bruce Boudreau is not one of those people. Joining the Big Show with The Hockey News’ Michael Traikos and Ryan Kennedy, Boudreau spoke fondly about the Jets.

“Oh, they’re a legit contender, there’s no doubt in my mind,” said Boudreau about the Jets. 

The Jets are up 2-1 in the series over the St. Louis Blues with a pair of gutsy wins at home before suffering a beatdown on the road. Their road loss was played without veteran defenseman Dylan DeMelo, a stabilizer on the back end. They’ve also been without their third and fifth leading scorers, Nikolaj Ehlers and Gabriel Vilardi.

With those absentees, the Jets still hold the series lead and home-ice advantage in the first round. Their ability to level up their game in difficult circumstances is why Boudreau believes they can win it all.

“I think they’re a really good team, and I’ll tell you where I thought these guys aren’t kidding around this year,” said the 15-year veteran coach. “With about 10 games to go in the season, they went into Vegas and beat Vegas 4-0. Then they played Chicago, they won in overtime, they played a couple of lesser lights, and they either lost or just got by. Then all of the sudden they played Dallas when if Dallas would have won, they would have been within two points of them for the Central Division crown, and they beat them 5-1… they played St. Louis when St. Louis was on their 12-game winning streak and they beat them again very handily. That’s when I said, this team is a team that could win it now. They can step up their game whenever they want.” 

The 70-year-old Boudreau won the Jack Adams Award in the 2007-08 season after taking over the Washington Capitals head coaching job 21 games into the season. Boudreau had achieved a lot throughout his coaching career, including a Presidents’ Trophy with the Capitals, the fastest coach to reach 200 wins, and the quickest a coach was hired after being fired.

While Boudreau did have some playoff struggles in his coaching career, that shouldn’t diminish the great former coach's ability to recognize how impressive the Jets have looked since Game 1 of the regular season. 

They roll four lines, six defensemen and can both match the opponent's play style or inflict their own. Highlighted by the additions of Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev, the Jets can impose themselves physically and wear down their opponent by the time the third period begins. 

“As a proud Canadian, I hope it’s Winnipeg against Florida and that Winnipeg brings it, but I think Florida is going to win, they’re the deepest team.”

The Jets’ route through the playoffs is vicious. Defeating the Blues has been proven to be a difficult task, and a potential second-round matchup against the Dallas Stars or the Colorado Avalanche doesn’t make things any easier, but the Jets have built themselves to succeed in the playoffs, both stylistically and roster-wise. 

Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.

Crystal Palace 3-0 Aston Villa: FA Cup semi-final – as it happened

Eberechi Eze and Ismaila Sarr scored the goals as Palace routed Villa to reach their third FA Cup final

4 min: Other than that one progressive Kamara pass, nobody’s showing their hand as of yet. A thoughtful start as both teams gently probe.

2 min: Kamara tries to release Cash down the right with a clever first-time pass. Lacroix is on point to usher both opponent and ball out of play for a goal kick. We can just about make this out. A lot of smoke down this end of the pitch, thanks to the tail end of a pre-match pyro party.

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