Florida
Reinhart gets his 55th goal to win it, Florida tops Buffalo 3-2 in OT to clinch home ice for Round 1
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) All Florida needed was one point to ensure its postseason run would start at home. And once that task was done, Sam Reinhart decided to put an exclamation point on things.
Reinhart got his 55th goal of the season with 1:02 left in overtime, and the Panthers clinched home ice for at least Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs by beating the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 in the next-to-last regular-season game for both teams on Saturday.
“We’re excited about the challenge ahead,” Reinhart said. “It’s starting for real pretty soon. Do what you can to get home-ice advantage. That’s the beauty of playoffs; at the end of the day, it’s a battle, it’s a war, Game 1. And we’re looking forward to that.”
Reinhart took a pass from Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov and delivered the winner. Anton Lundell and Kevin Stenlund also scored for Florida, and Matthew Tkachuk had an assist – his 60th of the season, the third straight year he’s had that many.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 27 shots for Florida, getting the win in his 700th career game. He’s the 32nd goalie in league history to hit that milestone, and one of three still active.
“An incredible accomplishment,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said.
Tyson Jost and Jack Quinn scored for Buffalo, which got 39 saves from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The Sabres got a point off Florida for only the second time in the teams’ last 11 meetings; they’re 1-9-1 in that span.
Florida had a 5-minute power play in the third after Buffalo defenseman Connor Clifton was given a match penalty for an illegal check to the head of Panthers’ center Nick Cousins. But the Panthers got nothing past Luukkonen, who stopped seven shots to preserve what was a 2-2 tie.
The Sabres came through with another penalty kill with the game on the line. Buffalo’s Alex Tuch took a high-sticking penalty with 34.9 seconds left in regulation. Florida didn’t get a shot on goal before the third period expired, then had a 4-on-3 advantage to begin overtime as the power play continued – and the Sabres thwarted them again.
“The penalty kill was very good and looked very confident,” Sabres coach Don Granato said.
The teams combined to score four goals – two for Florida, two for Buffalo – in a 6:49 span of the first period, all on seven combined shots. It was 2-2 by the midpoint of that opening period, making it seem like a wild one was brewing.
But there was no more scoring until the end.
Jost was credited with his first goal since Dec. 2 when he deflected a shot by Rasmus Dahlin past Bobrovsky at 2:59 of the first, ending Florida’s bid for a third straight shutout. Lundell tied it for Florida at 5:02, with Tkachuk getting one of the assists on that goal.
Stenlund scored short-handed about three minutes later, before Quinn knotted things up on the power play.
UP NEXT
Sabres: Visit Tampa Bay on Monday night in their season finale.
Panthers: Host Toronto on Tuesday night in their regular-season finale.
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A diver who was reported missing near the Fort Pierce Inlet has been found dead, according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.
The U.S. Coast Guard received a mayday call around 11:30 a.m. June 27 about the missing diver. The Coast Guard then notified the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which deployed four boats to assist in the search, according to a social media post by the Sheriff’s Office. The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office marine unit also responded.
Friends of the missing diver joined the search, departing from Fort Pierce Inlet around 1 p.m.
The search, which included aerial support from the Coast Guard and FWC, focused on an area about six to seven miles north-northeast of the Fort Pierce Inlet, near Avalon State Park.
Around 4:10 p.m., the group of civilian divers entered the water and located the missing diver at the bottom of the ocean in about 55 feet of water. The diver was recovered and pronounced dead.
The body was transported to Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce. The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division is investigating the incident.
No additional information is available at this time.
This story was created by Colleen Wixon, colleen.wixon@tcpalm.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
Colleen Wixon is the Indian River County government watchdog reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers.
The Florida Lottery offers several draw games for those hoping to win one of the available jackpots.
Here’s a look at the winning numbers for games played on Friday, June 26, 2026.
Winning Mega Millions numbers from June 26 drawing
05-13-30-33-52, Mega Ball: 06
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Jackpot Triple Play numbers from June 26 drawing
09-12-15-25-30-38
Check Jackpot Triple Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Fantasy 5 numbers from June 26 drawing
Midday: 05-11-19-27-31
Evening: 17-24-29-34-35
Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash Pop numbers from June 26 drawing
Morning: 11
Matinee: 08
Afternoon: 14
Evening: 03
Late Night: 01
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Powerball, Mega Millions jackpots: What to know in case you win
Here’s what to know in case you win the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
Winning Pick 2 numbers from June 26 drawing
Midday: 2-7, FB: 1
Evening: 3-5, FB: 8
Check Pick 2 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from June 26 drawing
Midday: 2-8-7, FB: 1
Evening: 7-0-4, FB: 8
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from June 26 drawing
Midday: 3-4-9-0, FB: 1
Evening: 4-2-7-4, FB: 8
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 5 numbers from June 26 drawing
Midday: 0-5-3-4-6, FB: 1
Evening: 7-0-0-4-5, FB: 8
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Where can you buy Florida Lottery tickets?
Tickets can be purchased in person at any authorized retailer throughout Florida, including gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. To find a retailer near you, go to Find Florida Lottery Retailers.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes of $599 or less: Claim at any authorized Florida Lottery retailer or Florida Lottery district office.
- Prizes for $600 to $1 million: Must be claimed in person at any Florida Lottery district office for games that do not offer an annual payment option.
- Prizes greater than $1 million and all prizes with an annual payment option: Must be claimed at Florida Lottery headquarters, except Mega Millions and Powerball prizes, which can be claimed at any Florida Lottery district office.
You also can claim your winnings by mail if the prize is $250,000 or less. Mail your ticket to the Florida Lottery with the required documentation.
Florida law requires public disclosure of winners
If you’re a winner, Florida law mandates the following information is public record:
- Full name
- City of residence
- Game won
- Date won
- Amount won
- Name and location of the retailer where the winning ticket was purchased.
When are the Florida Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
- Florida Lotto: 11:15 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday.
- Jackpot Triple Play: 11:15 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
- Fantasy 5: Daily at 1:05 p.m. and 11:15 p.m.
- Cash Pop: Daily at 8:45 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 2:45 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 11:45 p.m.
- Pick 2, 3, 4, 5: Daily at 1:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Florida digital producer. You can send feedback using this form.
The Agrculture Department says the error rate in the SNAP food program for low-income families is high and might trigger a nearly $1 billion penalty.
Florida is not performing well when it comes to managing food assistance money.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its fiscal year 2025 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payment error rates that measure how accurately states determine who qualifies for SNAP and how much they should receive.
Florida’s error rate for 2025 was 12.97%, which covers both overpayments and underpayments. The national payment error rate for fiscal year 2025 is 10.62%. The 12.97% is more than double the federal threshold of 6% percent that Congress says is acceptable.
The result is the state will have to pay a nearly $1 billion penalty and subsequently could impact the 3 million mostly lower-income Floridians, who rely on that program. Florida is now required to submit a corrective action plan to the USDA detailing a solution.
Florida’s rate is actually down from the 15.1% error rate the year before, it’s still above a 10% threshold that would require Florida and other states to contribute to the program’s future costs. That would come to about $984 million for Florida in the fiscal year that begins in 2028.
Change is part of President Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’
This change is part of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” that focused on finding waste, fraud and abuse in numerous federal programs.
“These payment error rates are further proof that state accountability is severely lacking in SNAP,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement.
Critics predict huge cost shift to state
The Florida Policy Institute, a nonprofit research and advocacy group, called the change a “massive cost shift” from the federal government to the state.
“Now, unless Florida lawmakers act to raise revenue to preserve SNAP and make up for the loss in federal funds, we will see a cut to SNAP program eligibility or benefits, or cuts in other areas of the state budget,” said Holly Bullard, FPI’s chief strategy and development officer.
The Legislature did approve about $4 million in the new state budget for improved methods of finding errors so the rate will go down further.
The federal bill pushed by Trump also cuts SNAP nationally by about $187 billion over 10 years. In Florida, in the first five months since the bill took effect, participation in SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) has dropped by about 10% statewide — more than 277,000 people.
Curt Anderson is the Policy and Politics Reporter for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY at https://tallahassee.com/newsletters.
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