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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Austin Reaves scored 35 points in just 25 minutes, and the Los Angeles Lakers overcame Luka Doncic's departure with a left leg injury for a 119-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night.

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LeBron James had 17 points and 10 assists for the Lakers, who snapped Philadelphia's five-game winning streak with a big second-half rally in their first game back from a draining eight-game road trip.

Joel Embiid had 35 points and Tyrese Maxey added 26 points and 13 assists for the 76ers, who blew a 14-point lead and nearly came back from a 16-point deficit in the second half of their first loss since Jan. 26.

The Lakers led 110-94 with four minutes left, but Philadelphia closed the gap to 116-113 when rookie VJ Edgecombe stole James' inbounds pass and hit a 3-pointer with 36 seconds to play. James made eight turnovers.

But Maxi Kleber fed Rui Hachimura for a dunk with 12 seconds left, and the Lakers hung on.

With 12-of-17 shooting and five 3-pointers while coming off the bench, Reaves was phenomenal despite playing on a minutes restrictionin his second game backfrom a 5 1/2-week absence with a calf injury.

But just when the Lakers' core was finally healthy again,Doncic went downduring their fifth win in seven games.

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The NBA's leading scorer limped to the locker room with 3:03 left in the first half after apparently hurting his leg on the far end of the court moments earlier. He didn't return for the second half due to what the Lakers called left leg soreness.

Reaves, Doncic and James were playing in only their 10th game together during a season in which all three have struggled with significant injuries.

The Lakers took their first lead with Reaves' back-to-back 3-pointers to open the fourth on a 21-6 run.

76ers: At Phoenix on Saturday.

Lakers: Host Golden State on Saturday.

AP NBA:https://apnews.com/NBA

PHOENIX (AP) — Pat Spencer scored a career-high 20 points, Gui Santos added 18 and the shorthanded Golden State Warriors erased a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Phoenix Suns 101-97 on Thursday night.

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The Suns had a chance to pull ahead in the final seconds, but Dillon Brooks missed a 3-pointer and Golden State's Gary Payton II came up with the rebound before Moses Moody fed De'Anthony Melton for a layup as time expired.

Phoenix took an 82-76 lead into the fourth quarter after holding Golden State to 17 points in the third. The Suns pushed the advantage to 90-76 less than two minutes into the fourth after Collin Gillespie hit 3s on back-to-back offensive possessions.

But the Warriors weren't done, methodically cutting into the advantage before Melton made a layup to tie the game at 97-all with 55.8 seconds remaining. Santos made a fast-break layup with 28.7 seconds remaining to put Golden State up 99-97.

Brooks led the Suns with 24 points. Grayson Allen had 21. Phoenix made just six field goals in the fourth quarter, scoring just 15 points.

Allen fed Oso Ighodaro for a dunk that gave the Suns a 97-91 lead with 3:55 left, but they didn't score again. Allen landed awkwardly a few moments later, left the game with a little more than three minutes left and did not return. The Suns said it was a right knee injury.

The Suns were without guards Devin Booker (ankle) and Jalen Green (hamstring/hip). The Warriors didn't have Stephen Curry (knee) or new forward Kristaps Porzingis, who hasn't joined the teamafter being acquired from the Hawks in a trade.

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The Warriors took a 59-55 lead into halftime after attempting 37 3-pointers and making 15. Spencer led Golden State with 15 points before the break on five 3-pointers. Brooks had 15 for the Suns.

Porzingis is expected to join the Warriors on Friday in Los Angeles, but coach Steve Kerr was skeptical he'd be ready to play against the Lakers.

Also on Thursday, the Warriors announced they traded reserve forward/center Trayce Jackson-Davis to the Raptors for a second round pick.

Warriors: At Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.

Suns: Host 76ers on Saturday.

AP NBA:https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

While most MLB teams spend the offseason attempting to address the most glaring needs on their rosters, many still arrive at spring training with a few unsettled spots. Competitions for these roles in camp — whether on the backfields under the watchful eyes of front-office officials and coaches or in front of fans in Cactus and Grapefruit League action — are often some of the most compelling storylines in the weeks leading up to Opening Day.

Here's a look at eight position groups that promise to be highly scrutinized as they're sorted out in spring training:

Boston Red Sox: Second base and third base

Last year's Opening Day Red Sox lineup featured marquee free-agent signing Alex Bregman at third base, the major-league debut of top prospect Kristian Campbell at second base and the beginning of Rafael Devers' short-lived tenure as Boston's designated hitter. In the chaotic year since, Campbell flourished then floundered, Devers was traded in stunning fashion, and Bregman helped lead Boston to the postseason before departing in free agency. Whew.

With Bregman and Devers gone, trade acquisition Willson Contreras at first and Campbell looking to restore his value whilefocusing on playing the outfield, second and third base are in flux for the Red Sox. Recentreported signingIsiah Kiner-Falefa provides some versatile infield depth, but his lackluster bat leaves him better suited for a bench role. Among the candidates for the starting infield jobs, 23-year-old Marcelo Mayer is the most exciting, having been among the hyped trio of hitting prospects who debuted last season, along with Campbell and budding superstar Roman Anthony. Wrist surgery ended Mayer's rookie campaign prematurely; is he ready to take on an every-day role, or would Boston prefer to platoon him if his struggles against southpaws persist?

The most straightforward alignment would seem to be Mayer at third and the right-handed Romy Gonzalez — who crushes southpaws — at second. But if Boston prioritizes favorable matchups and/or defense, Kiner-Falefa (RHH), speedy second baseman David Hamilton (LHH), Nate Eaton (RHH) and Nick Sogard (switch-hitter) could factor into these two spots on a rotating basis. There won't be room for all of them on the roster, so how camp unfolds — and if another addition is made before Opening Day — will play a big role in determining Alex Cora's infield strategy.

Houston Astros: Corner outfield

Manager Joe Espada wants Yordan Alvarez to DH as much as possible, a reasonable preference but also one that exacerbates the current logjam of corner infielders; Houstonis still trying to solvehow to give regular at-bats to Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker with Carlos Correa entrenched at third base. Meanwhile, uncertainty abounds in the outfield.

The Jose Altuve outfield experiment appears to be over. Alvarez's days in the grass will be limited moving forward. Several others who have appeared in Houston's outfield recently — Mauricio Dubón, Chas McCormick, Jacob Melton, Cooper Hummel — are no longer in the organization. Jake Meyers, an elite defender in center field, is still in the fold, despite trade rumors swirling around him. But who will flank Meyers in the corners?

Lefty slugger Jesús Sánchez arrived from Miami via trade in July but didn't do much slugging with Houston; can he redeem his acquisition after a lackluster introductory stint? Cam Smith was the prize in the trade return for Kyle Tucker, but he faded hard in the second half of his rookie season and has a lot to prove this spring. Two homegrown hitters named Zach — Cole (LHH) and Dezenzo (RHH) — have tantalizing power but big swing-and-miss issues. Former top prospect Taylor Trammell remains on the depth chart as a more seasoned, if still unproven option. Each corner outfield candidate offers hints of optimism and a healthy dose of concerns. If the Astros want to return to October, at least one of these hitters will need to step up.

San Diego Padres: First base and second base

The Padres made one of the more interesting additions of the winter when they gave 29-year-old Korean infielder Sung-Mun Song a four-year, $15 million deal. An unremarkable role player for thefirst eight years of his careerwith the Kiwoom Heroes, Song's 144 wRC+ranked seventh in the KBOover the past two seasons, and his defensive acumen at multiple infield spots helped fuel his market as a major-league free agent. That versatilityappealed to San Diegoas it sought to backfill the void in the lineup and infield left by Luis Arraez and Ryan O'Hearn, who both departed in free agency. But Song's exact fit remains unclear.

Primarily a third baseman in Korea, Song also has experience at first and second. And with Manny Machado still manning the hot corner in San Diego, Song's primary role will come on the right side of the infield. The other main character in that dynamic is Jake Cronenworth, who also can handle first and second base and is coming offa sneaky stellar season. Defensively, that gives new manager Craig Stammen flexibility to deploy Song and Cronenworth however he sees fit on the right side.

But Song's bat is a much bigger question as he adjusts to major-league pitching. If struggles at the plate demote him to more of a bench role, the Padres don't haveany proven internal optionsto pick up the slack; other infielders pushing for roster spots include Will Wagner, Mason McCoy, Samad Taylor and Pablo Reyes. That puts real pressure on Song to make an impact right away if San Diego's position-player group is going to stack up in the ultra-competitive NL West.

Toronto Blue Jays: Corner outfield

The Blue Jays were plenty busy making moves this offseason, but their highest profile pursuit — of outfielder Kyle Tucker — fell short. Chasing Tucker wasn't about a pressing present need as much as it was seeking a long-term anchor in the outfield, as George Springer and Daulton Varsho are both slated to hit free agency after this season. And even with Varsho and Springer still in the fold, the Blue Jays have some things to sort out in the outfield in the short-term. Varsho's big power and fantastic glove provide a strong starting point in center, but what happens at the two corner spots will depend on myriad factors.

First and foremost: Can Anthony Santander — owed nearly $70 million over the next four seasons — bounce back after an injury-riddled first season as a Blue Jay? Restoring his bat is paramount, but his ability to play competent defense in left or right field will also be important if Toronto wants to keep the 36-year-old Springer at DH. Addison Barger flashed legitimate star power on both sides of the ball during Toronto's pennant run, but both he and the late-blooming Nathan Lukes — another key cog in October — have a lot to prove against left-handed pitching if they're going to sustain regular roles. Davis Schneider and Myles Straw also remain as useful right-handed complements. There aren't any top prospects on the doorstep of the majors, but keep an eye on Yohendrick Pinango and RJ Schreck, upper-level bats who could make some noise in camp.

Can this group of familiar faces — plus new Japanese slugger Kazuma Okamoto, who projects to primarily handle third base but could factor into the left field mix — backfill the void left in the lineup by departed mainstay Bo Bichette? That's the biggest question facing Toronto's position-player group. A lot is clearly riding on Okamoto, but there's ample pressure on the holdovers to step up, too, especially in the outfield.

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Milwaukee Brewers: Fourth and fifth starting pitchers

Milwaukee executed its traditional gambit of trading away a franchise favorite before he reached free agency, dealing Freddy Peralta to the Mets in exchange for top prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat. Brandon Woodruff, the longest-tenured Brewer, remains atop the rotation after accepting the qualifying offer, but the rest of Milwaukee's starting staff is filled with relatively new names. Two of those pitchers — breakout fireballer Jacob Misiorowski and effective trade acquisition Quinn Priester — should have firm grips on rotation roles behind Woodruff. But the two other spots look to be up for grabs, setting up a competition in camp to determine the Opening Day rotation.

Three arms will be at the forefront of the conversation. The most experienced is Chad Patrick, who emerged as an unlikely rookie contributor in the rotation during the regular season but transitioned to the bullpen for the stretch run and shined as a reliever in October. It's tempting to watch Patrick in relief — throwingmarkedly harderthan he did as a starter — and wonder if the bullpen is where he could make the greatest impact. But Milwaukee is flush with bullpen options, making it more likely that Patrick stays stretched out and vies for a rotation job.

He'll be competing with two rookie-eligible right-handers, Brandon Sproat and Logan Henderson. Both pitchers showed flashes of potential in their brief major-league stints last season, and each appears in the back half of most of the recently released Top 100 prospect lists. How Sproat adjusts to his new organization and how Henderson returns from the flexor strain that ended his 2025 campaign in August will help clarify who is prepared to seize a rotation spot to open the season.

Another name worth mentioning is Robert Gasser, who had a strong initial cameo in 2024 before undergoing Tommy John surgery. He returned to the mound at the end of 2025 and will be looking to rediscover his pre-surgery form in 2026. He could provide a lefty alternative for a rotation depth chart loaded with right-handers.

L.A. Dodgers: Fifth, sixth (and seventh?) starting pitchers

It's no secret that the reigning champs have amassed a spectacular amount of starting pitching talent. That was already true a year ago, and since then, the unit has only elevated further, with Shohei Ohtani's return to the mound and Yoshinobu Yamamoto's legendary October heroics. Clayton Kershaw's retirement removed one accomplished arm from the rotation, but Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow remain as unquestioned frontline pitchers.

But while that quartet is as formidable as any starting staff in the world, the depth chart beyond it is also crucial. If we've learned anything in recent years, it's that it takes a whole lot more than five starters to make it through a 162-game season, plus a deep playoff run, and the Dodgers know that as well as any team. Fortunately, there's a huge group of talented hurlers beyond Los Angeles' top four who will be jockeying for roles as big-league starters at Camelback Ranch.

Roki Sasaki begins an utterly fascinating sophomore campaign after faltering badly as a rookie in the regular season before shining in relief in October. The Dodgers are intent on returning him to the rotation, but can he make the adjustments to succeed as a starter and stay healthy while doing so? Conversely, Emmet Sheehan looked terrific as a starter in the regular season before a more uneven showing in relief during the postseason. He looks to have surpassed Sasaki on the depth chart, but he'll need to reinforce that this spring. Several others with big-league experience — Justin Wrobleski, Ben Casparius, Kyle Hurt, Landon Knack — continue to straddle the starter/reliever line. Then there's a couple of key injury returners in right-handers Gavin Stone and River Ryan, each looking to regaintheir impressive pre-surgeryform. Bobby Miller is still around, too.

On paper, it's an embarrassment of riches, but these arms also represent pivotal depth for when injuries inevitably happen. Some portion of these pitchers are bound to contribute to Los Angeles' effort to three-peat; exactly which ones remains to be seen.

Philadelphia Phillies: Outfield

It's rare to see a team be blatantly transparent about its intention to put a yet-to-debut prospect on the Opening Day roster. But the Phillies have not been shy whatsoever about how much they are counting on 22-year-old Justin Crawford to be their center fielder in 2026. The son of four-time All-Star outfielder Carl, Justin spent all of 2025 at Triple-A and showed an exciting blend of speed and contact resembling that of his father's prime. Now Philadelphia appears ready to lean on him to add a youthful component to a lineup loaded with grizzled veterans.

The Phillies' willingness to hand Crawford the starting center-field job is refreshing in an era when so many teams are overly cautious and/or prioritizing service-time considerations. But Crawford isn't a consensus top prospect whom evaluators regard as a slam-dunk to contribute right away, let alone blossom into an impact player. That puts some pressure on Philadelphia's confidence in Crawford to be validated quickly, especially within the context of an outfield that features uncertainty in the corners, with Brandon Marsh's ongoing platoon challenges and the addition of Adolis Garcia coming off two wretched campaigns.

Starting a rookie in center field on Opening Day would be one thing if he were flanked by two rock-solid contributors, but that's not the case here. There's upside with this unit, but Crawford and Garcia will need to perform well in a hurry as the only two new faces in a lineup that has otherwise stayed the same.

New York Mets: Starting rotation

As Peralta leaves behind a Brewers rotation filled with younger pitchers, he joins a Mets staff with a wealth of veteran rotation candidates, all of whom come with major questions. While Peralta and budding ace Nolan McLean are locks to occupy the top two rotation spots in Queens, you can make a case for about six other pitchers to fill out the remaining three jobs as things stand.

Clay Holmes looks like the safest bet of this group — an unexpected sentiment, given his career trajectory — but also the one with the lowest demonstrated upside. Lefty David Peterson was fantastic in the first half of 2025, earning an All-Star nod, but awful down the stretch, posting a 6.34 ERA after the break. Sean Manaea is by far the highest-paid of the bunch, but his second season in Queens was marred by injuries, making it difficult to forecast his contributions. Kodai Senga is enigmatic from both durability and performance standpoints, and his name has floated in trade rumors all winter. If that quartet of veterans fails to produce enough reliable starters, 22-year-old Jonah Tong looms as an exciting rookie candidate. There's also 26-year-old Christian Scott, who will be looking to make a mark in camp after missing all of 2025 following Tommy John surgery.

New York's dramatic offseason makeover of its offensehas been astonishing to watch, but recall that the team's second-half collapse last year was largely fueled by disarray on the mound. Peralta will help, but a lot will depend on the rest of the pitchers in-house to up their games if the Mets are going to get back on track, and that should be a big focus in Port St. Lucie this spring.

The parents of an 8-year-old Texas girl who vanished last summer when flash flooding inundated the Hill Country are suing the operators of Camp Mystic, the Christian summer camp where she had been staying when she was washed away.

Will Steward and CiCi Steward say the Eastland family, which has run the all-girls camp for decades, failed to protect Cecilia "Cile" Steward, who is "presumed to be deceased."

"On June 29, 2025, Will and CiCi Steward dropped their eight-year-old daughter Cile off for her first time at sleepaway camp, an entire month at Camp Mystic, where Cile's mother, aunt, grandmother, and countless cousins had attended as campers and counselors," the lawsuit says. "Cile's parents did not know that when they kissed Cile goodbye, it would be the last time they would ever hold her."

The Austin couple are seeking in excess of $1 million in actual and punitive damages, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in Travis County.

Twenty-seven children and camp counselors were among the 130 people who died after slow-moving thunderstorms in Kerr County caused the Guadalupe River to flood on July 4 and turned a national holiday into a Texas tragedy.

The victims included Richard "Dick" Eastland, the owner of Camp Mystic.

"We believe Dick was trying to save a few of the campers," Lauren Garcia, a former Camp Mystic attendee, told reporters at the time. "I believe he passed while trying to save them from the flooding."

But the Stewards contend in the lawsuit that Eastland, and his son, Edward Eastland, waited for more than an hour before they tried to evacuate the girls from the cabins.

In addition, despite being in a flood plain and having a well-documented history of flooding, the Eastland family had a bare-bones emergency evacuation plan, and they repeatedly ignored the National Weather Service flooding alerts, the lawsuit says.

When the rains came, the Eastlands started moving some of their assets to higher ground, according to the lawsuit.

"They moved the horses. They moved the canoes. They did not move the children," the lawsuit says.

Even as water started seeping into the cabins scattered along the riverbank, Edward Eastland insisted the campers stay put and climb to the top bunks, the lawsuit says.

Edward Eastland wrongly predicted that the floodwaters would soon "recede," the lawsuit says. An at one point he desperately tried to pray the rain away.

"Lord Jesus, please stop the rain," he was heard saying, according to the lawsuit.

"But the water keeps coming," the lawsuit says. "The girls' trunks are floating as the girls huddle on two top bunks by the windows, terrified and desperate."

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The lawsuit names as defendants the camp and affiliated companies, Edward Eastland and three other members of the Eastland family, and William Neely Bonner III, who is president of Natural Fountain Properties Inc., which owns the land Camp Mystic occupied.

The Eastlands' lawyer, Mikal Watts, said they are "devastated by the deaths of our campers and counselors, and we continue to pray for God to comfort and support their families in their unfathomable grief."

But, Watts said, they "intend to demonstrate and prove that this sudden surge of floodwaters far exceeded any previous flood in the area by several magnitudes, that it was unexpected and unforeseeable, and that no adequate early warning flood systems existed in the area."

"We disagree with the misinformation in the legal filings regarding the actions of Camp Mystic and Dick Eastland, who lost his life as well," Watts said. "We will thoroughly respond to these accusations in due course."

The Stewards' lawsuit was filed after the families of 13 other campers and two counselors who died sued Camp Mystic and its owners in November, alleging "gross negligence and reckless disregard for safety."

In December, Camp Mystic announced plans to reopen this summer at its newer Cypress Lake location, which is, according to its website, "completely independent from the older Guadalupe River camp."

"The Eastlands are tone deaf to the realities of what transpired at their camp," the Stewards' lawsuit says.

The Stewards said in the lawsuit that Cile and two other campers managed to flee their cabin on an inflatable mattress. But Cile fell off the mattress and tried to swim "to the tree where the majority of the survivors were found."

"She was so close to survival," they said in the lawsuit. "She almost makes it."

But "the current is too strong."

"Cile is swept away," the lawsuit says.

The grieving parents were unsparing in their criticism of the Eastland family.

"The Eastlands now blame God for what happened," the lawsuit says. "They claim this tragedy occurred because of an unprecedented flood. The truth is that this flood was precedented."

The Eastlands, the Stewards said in the lawsuit, ignored "the warnings provided by Camp Mystic's history of flooding by claiming that the July 4th flood was a 1,000-year flood and the last time a flood like this one happened, Noah had to build an ark."

"That's not true either," the lawsuit says. "But even if it were, both Noah and the Eastlands were warned a flood was coming. The only difference is, Noah prepared. The Eastlands did not."

By Simon Lewis and Dave Sherwood

WASHINGTON/HAVANA, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. will provide an extra $6 million in humanitarian aid to Cuba, the top ​State Department aid official said on Thursday, even as Washington has ‌stepped up efforts to block oil supplies to the Caribbean island nation, causing crippling shortages.

Aid official ‌Jeremy Lewin said at a news conference the new U.S. commitment would bring to $9 million the amount of assistance provided to the people of Cuba since Hurricane Melissa struck in October.

The aid is being delivered by the Catholic Church and Lewin said Cuba's communist ⁠party authorities had so ‌far not interfered with its distribution.

Cuba's deputy foreign minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio called the move two-faced.

"Quite hypocritical to apply draconian ‍coercive measures denying basic economic conditions to millions and then to announce soup & cans for a few," de Cossio said on social media.

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U.S. President Donald Trump has said Cuba will ​no longer receive oil from Venezuela after the U.S. operation to capture ‌its leader Nicolas Maduro last month, and has threatened to impose tariffs on other suppliers like Mexico if they continue to ship fuel to the island.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said earlier on Thursday his government would roll out temporary measures in the next week to deal with fuel shortages amid blackouts in several provinces.

Despite the ⁠U.S. moves on oil imports, Lewin argued that ​the humanitarian crisis in Cuba, which goes beyond ​the damage from Hurricane Melissa, was the fault of Cuba's government.

"It's because the government can't, you know, put food on the shelves ... They ‍let these government-run ⁠stores go completely empty. They're not stocked," Lewin said. "And so what you've had is a humanitarian catastrophe."

Cuba has long blamed the U.S. Cold War-era ⁠embargo, a complicated web of financial and trade restrictions, for its economic woes.

The Trump administration has ‌vastly ramped up those measures in recent months.

(Reporting by Simon Lewis ‌and Dave Sherwood; Editing by Sonali Paul)

(The Center Square) – A majority of Americans say cutting government spending is the best way to lower debt and costs, a new poll from the National Taxpayers Union found.

The nationwidesurveyof 800 registered voters was conducted from Jan. 12-14. The survey included 38% of those who self-identified as Republicans, 35% as Democrats, and 25% independents or unaffiliated voters.

According to the survey, 89% of those polled think the U.S. is facing an affordability crisis, while 88% say the $37 trillion national debt will eventually impact them and their families personally.

Pete Sepp, president of National Taxpayers Union, said in a statement accompanying the poll data that government over spending has consequences.

"Americans understand that the federal government's overspending has consequences, and families are paying the price," Sepp said. "Voters want leaders to rein in spending before the national debt and inflation do even more damage to household budgets."

The survey asked voters which options they prefer to reduce costs. A majority, 54%, chose cutting government spending; 32% said grow the economy; and 13% said raise taxes.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 33 shots to improve to 16-0-1 in his past 17 games, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 6-1 on Thursday night in the final game for both teams before the Olympic break.

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Brandon Hagel, Oliver Bjporkstrand, Jake Guentzel, Erik Cernak, Pontus Holmberg and Zemgus Girgensons — who will all participate in the Olympic Games — scored for Tampa Bay. The Lightning are 19-1-1 in their last 21 games.

Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov extended his scoring streak to 10 games, his 13th career scoring streak of at least 10 games — which is tied for fifth in NHL history.

Mackie Samoskevich scored for the Panthers. Danil Tarasov finished with 20 saves for Florida before leaving due to injury in the third period. Sergei Bobrovsky finished the game for the Panthers, who played without regulars Brad Marchand, Aaron Ekblad, Evan Rodrigues. They all sat out after playingWednesday against Boston.

After Tampa Bay went up 4-0, tempers flared between the two rivals, which started when Matthew Tkachuk hit Kucherov from behind well away from the puck during a delayed penalty. Tkachuk and Hagel, who fought off the opening faceoff between Canada and the U.S. at last year's Four Nations Cup dropped the gloves during the dust up at 4:06 of the third period. All 11 skaters on the ice were given penalties while Florida coach Paul Maurice was ejected.

In the final preseason game between the teams in October, they combined for more than 300 minutes in penalties. They combined for 137 on Thursday.

Hagel opened the scoring 2:08 into the game, tipping a Victor Hedman shot. Girgensons made it 2-0 at 14:08, whacking a backhand past Tarasov during a scramble in front.

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Tkachuk took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at the end of the first period and Guentzel made the Panthers pay for it, getting a rebound off a Darren Raddysh shot at 1:14. Cernak scored his first of the season on a wraparound with 2:10 to go.

Holmberg scored for Tampa Bay at 6:09 of the third before Samoskevich scored a power-play goal at 9:50. Bjorkstrand capped the scoring with 4:19 remaining.

Panthers: Host Toronto on Thursday, Feb 26.

Lightning: Host Toronto on Wednesday, Feb. 25.

AP NHL:https://apnews.com/hub/nhl