BLAKE COLEMAN

The Pittsburgh Penguins may have to try and close out the New York Rangers without captain Sidney Crosby.

Joe Pavelski scored twice and got the game-winner on the first power-play goal in the series for Dallas as the Stars beat the Calgary Flames 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.

The St. Louis Blues have signed forward Brandon Saad to a five-year, $22.5 million contract.

A person with knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press that veteran forward Corey Perry has agreed to a $1 million, two-year contract with the back-to-back champion Tampa Bay Lightning.

Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic still is not sure the team will be able to bring back Landeskog and Grubauer.“I don’t know,” Sakic said. The spotlight is also bright on the Carolina Hurricanes in their talks with defenseman Dougie Hamilton, the Washington Capitals finalizing a deal with captain Alex Ovechkin and Stanley Cup champion Blake Coleman's landing spot because he likely won't return to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Many of these situations need to be resolved one way or the other before free agency opens Wednesday. “If free agency starts and we know we need a defenseman, we can’t be patient and wait for Dougie to make a decision,” Carolina GM Don Waddell said Wednesday. “We’ve let Dougie know.

The end of the NHL draft only ushers in more questions about what's coming next this offseason.

The defending champion Lightning outshot the Canadiens 13-4 in a dominant start to their second opportunity to wrap up the series and win the Cup for the second time in 10 months. But they couldn't crack Price, who seems to have found his groove in the final after a rough first three games. Forward Blake Coleman, a pending free agent who's likely playing his final series with the Lightning, had a dominant first period on the forecheck, frazzling the Canadiens and drawing a penalty. At the other end of the ice, Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made four saves and sticked away the puck from a danger area with the Canadiens buzzing. ___Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have won the Stanley Cup for the second consecutive season.

But the Lightning showed again why they're the champs and favorites to repeat by taking blow after blow and responding. Suzuki tied it for Montreal after Anthony Cirelli put the Lightning on the board a few minutes earlier. Carey!” at Price, and the Lightning improved to 13-2 this postseason when leading at the second intermission. JOSEPH INMathieu Joseph replaced Killorn in Tampa Bay's lineup, skating 6:23 in his first game since May 20. BATTERED CANADIENSThe Lightning were not the only team on the ice to have some attrition of injuries add up.

Suzuki tied it for Montreal after Anthony Cirelli put the Lightning on the board a few minutes earlier. Cirelli's seemingly harmless point shot found its way through traffic and beat Carey Price on the Lightning's sixth shot of the night. The Lightning are 13-2 this postseason when leading and the Canadiens 0-5 when trailing after two. Getting Joel Armia back helped the Canadiens find a different gear in Game 2 and take the play to the Lightning, but Coleman's late goal put them in comeback mode again. ___Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.

The Tampa Bay Lightning lead the Stanley Cup Final two games to none after beating the Montreal Canadiens 3-1on Wednesday night.

The Montreal Canadiens have finally earned respect during a remarkable playoff run that has them in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 28 years.

Brayden Point kept up his scoring touch with a tiebreaking goal late in the second period, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 27 shots and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 2-1 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup semifinals.

Barclay Goodrow beat Alex Nedeljkovic for the go-ahead goal at 12:39 of the third period to help the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 to open their second-round playoff series.

Trade deadline acquisitions are already paying big dividends for teams that have advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs.

The Florida Panthers entrusted their season to a rookie goalie making his playoff debut.

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 32 shots, Steven Stamkos and Ondrej Palat had first-period goals and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their Central Division first-round playoff series.

The first-ever playoff game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers could be tough to top.

Brayden Point scored two late goals, including the game-winner with 1:14 left in the third period, to lift the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning over the Florida Panthers 5-4 to take Game 1 of their playoff series.

Blake Coleman converted a short-handed penalty shot and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 20 shots for his 26th career shutout to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-0 victory against the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.

Rewind to 2019 and early 2020 and that description fits the Tampa Bay Lightning, who added some grit and toughness to their talented core and went on to win the Stanley Cup. The Lightning effect was clear as soon as NHL free agency opened. “You need guys that are going to have a little bit of sandpaper. “We maybe have taken a little bit of a step back from the most skillful lineup we’ve ever had to more of a balance between the will and the skill," Poile said. We certainly have a little bit more physicality, a little bit more grit and I think it’s probably and hopefully a better mix than we had last year.”___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports