RALEIGH, N.C. — Matthew Tkachuk beat Frederik Andersen in the final seconds of the fourth overtime to give the Florida Panthers a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes early Friday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final.
Tkachuk took a feed from Sam Bennett after Florida won a battle for the puck as Carolina tried to clear the puck, then whipped a shot from the right circle past Andersen with 12.7 seconds left.
That sent Tkachuk racing toward center ice to celebrate with teammates in what turned into the longest game in either franchises’ history, as well as the sixth-longest game in NHL...
BOSTON – Leads were gained; leads were lost. Bodies were flying and flailing. Competition fierce throughout. And then a decisive Jimmy Butler 3-point attempt.
So, yes, Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals was very much Miami Heat-Boston Celtics playoff-intensity basketball, a rivalry staged at this level now for the third time in four years.
With the requisite fight to the finish, this time after the Celtics built a 13-point lead, the Heat pushed back to a 12-point advantage, with the Heat ultimately making it a 123-116 victory Wednesday night night at TD Garden.
So make it three series and...
BOSTON – Observations and other notes of interest from Wednesday night’s 123-116 NBA playoff victory over the Boston Celtics:
– A big problem?
– It certainly looked that way at the outset, when Robert Williams was dominating inside early for the Celtics.
– It looked that way when Heat backup center Cody Zeller struggled in his opening stint (and later his ensuing stint).
– It looked that way when the Heat tried to play Max Strus on Al Horford, as they did during the regular season.
– And it looked that way when Kevin Love was taken off the floor when the Celtics went small.
– But to their credit,...
SUNRISE — For the first time ever, FLA Live Arena will host the Eastern Conference finals.
If everything goes right, South Florida hockey fans will get the chance to see the Panthers clinch their second-ever trip to the Stanley Cup finals on home ice.
The NHL released the schedule for the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday night, and the Panthers will host Games 3 and 4. They will also host Game 6, if it is needed.
Florida’s first two clinching wins in the postseason have both come on the road, first in Boston and then Toronto.
None of the Panthers’ games conflict with the Heat’s schedule....
After capturing a second straight American Athletic Conference tournament championship over the weekend, UCF softball is heading to the Tallahassee Regional in the NCAA tournament, it was announced Sunday night.
The Knights will head north later this week to the NCAA regional that’s hosted by the national No. 3 seed Florida State. They’ll be joined by South Carolina and Marist in the regional.
The NCAA tournament appearance is the 10th in program history and the third straight under coach Cindy Ball-Malone.
UCF softball players, including AAC pitcher of the year Sarah Willis, center, celebrate...
MIAMI – A year after falling one Jimmy Butler 3-point attempt short of defeating the Boston Celtics for a berth in the 2022 NBA Finals, the Miami Heat will get another shot.
With the Celtics defeating the visiting Philadelphia 76ers 112-88 in Game 7 of that Eastern Conference semifinal series Sunday, the Heat will meet the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals for the third time in the last four seasons.
For the first time in the three matchups, the Celtics will have homecourt advantage in the best-of-seven series played on a 2-2-1-1-1 basis that opens Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. at TD Garden.
When...
FORT LAUDERDALE — David Ruiz had a goal and an assist on Josef Martínez’s go-ahead score before picking up a red card to help Inter Miami hold off the Eastern Conference-leading New England Revolution 2-1 on Saturday night.
Ruiz staked Inter Miami (5-6-0) to an early lead when he took a pass from Leonardo Campana and scored in the 6th minute. It was the first career goal for the 19-year-old rookie midfielder.
New England (7-2-3) thought it had scored the equalizer on a goal by 18-year-old midfielder Noel Buck in the 17th minute but it was disallowed because of an offside foul. Instead, the Revolution...
A day after adding Alabama transfer Tyler Harrell, the Hurricanes picked up two more commitments on Saturday.
First, defensive lineman transfer Anthony Campbell picked Miami. Later in the evening, junior college wide receiver Shemar Kirk committed to the Hurricanes. Both announced their commitments on social media.
Campbell, who is entering his third season of college football, played nine games at Louisiana-Monroe over the last two seasons. He had five total tackles and one tackle for loss last season. Pro Football Focus gave Campbell, who is listed at 6-7 and 277 pounds, a 51.1 defensive grade...
MIAMI — Jake Fraley homered twice, including a tiebreaking three-run shot in the ninth inning that sent the Cincinnati Reds past the Miami Marlins 7-4 on Friday night.
Eury Pérez struck out seven over 4 2/3 innings in his highly anticipated major league debut for Miami. The Marlins promoted the 20-year-old right-hander, the top prospect in their organization, from Double-A Pensacola to start the series opener.
The Reds erased a 4-2 deficit on Spencer Steer’s two-run double in the seventh.
Stuart Fairchild hit a leadoff single against reliever Dylan Floro (2-2) in the ninth and advanced two bases...
Sunday, Sept. 10: At Los Angeles Chargers, 4:25 p.m., CBS
Sunday, Sept. 17: At New England Patriots, 8:20 p.m., NBC
Sunday, Sept. 24: DENVER BRONCOS, 1 p.m., CBS
Sunday, Oct. 1: At Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m., CBS
Sunday, Oct. 8: NEW YORK GIANTS, 1 p.m., FOX
Sunday, Oct. 15: CAROLINA PANTHERS, 1 p.m., CBS
Sunday, Oct. 22: At Philadelphia Eagles, 8:20 p.m., NBC
Sunday, Oct. 29: NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS, 1 p.m., CBS
Sunday, Nov. 5: At Kansas City Chiefs in Frankfurt, Germany, 9:30 a.m., NFLN
Sunday, Nov. 12: OFF
Sunday, Nov. 19: LAS VEGAS RAIDERS, 1 p.m., CBS
Friday, Nov. 24: At New York Jets, 3 p.m., Amazon...