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Scoreboard Matter

In case you chose not to tune in last night the Panther’s put in a hard fought match, just came up short in the end. They should be getting some good help soon, I will touch on that a little bit later. They still have not been able to win on the road against West coast teams. Nathan Horton and Martin Gelinas scored for the struggling Panthers, who couldn’t overcome a shaky night from 41-year-old goaltender Ed Belfour. One game after playing well in a 5-4 loss to Colorado, Belfour gave up plenty of big rebounds against Minnesota, three of which led to goals. The Panthers’ six road wins are the fewest in the NHL, and after controlling the action early, the Panthers had little to show for it. Let’s check the score breakdown…

Last Nights Games

• Minnesota Wild 4, Florida Panthers 2 – If Niklas Backstrom keeps playing this well in relief of the injured Manny Fernandez, the Wild may be forced to go back to the platoon system that worked so well in the past. Backstrom made 41 saves, and Brent Burns had a goal and an assist in the third period to stave off the Florida Panthers in the Wild’s 4-2 victory on Thursday night.

Tonights Games

• 8 p.m.: Heat-Cavaliers, ESPN, Sun Sports; WIOD (610), WQBA (1140, Spanish) – The Miami Heat wanted to get back to .500 by the All-Star break, and now they’re one win away from achieving their goal. The defending champions look to extend their season-high five-game winning streak Friday when they visit the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Heat (24-25) surpassed their previous high of four straight wins with Wednesday’s 91-79 victory over the slumping Boston Celtics. Dwyane Wade had 30 points and nine assists for Miami, which has not been at .500 since it was 3-3 on Nov. 12.

TGIF! Hope everyone has a great Friday!