CHRIS DRIEDGER

Kraken Expansion Draft Hockey Chris Dreidger, center, a goalie from the Florida Panthers, stands with ESPN NHL hockey draft host Chris Fowler, left, and Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis as he is introduced Wednesday, July 21, 2021, as a new player for the Kraken during the team's expansion draft event in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) (Ted S. Warren)SEATTLE — (AP) — The Kraken expansion draft lacked drama after all 30 picks leaked out hours before they were revealed, but it had plenty of Seattle to introduce the NHL's 32nd franchise. “Any time you see a name like Carey Price available, you have to consider it,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis said. Boston defenseman Jeremy Lauzon will go down in the record books as Seattle's first expansion draft selection. “It’s a new team team and it offers a lot of opportunities for guys and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”___AP Hockey Writers Stephen Whyno and John Wawrow contributed to this report.

Kraken Expansion Draft Hockey Chris Dreidger, center, a goalie from the Florida Panthers, stands with ESPN NHL hockey draft hosts Dominic Moore, left, and Chris Fowler as he is introduced Wednesday, July 21, 2021, as a new player for the Seattle Kraken during the team's expansion draft event in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) (Ted S. Warren)SEATTLE — (AP) — The Seattle Kraken chose Boston defenseman Jeremy Lauzon with the first pick in their expansion draft Wednesday night. They introduced pending free agent Chris Driedger as their first goaltender and passed on Montreal’s Carey Price. “Any time you see a name like Carey Price available, you have to consider it," Kraken general manager Ron Francis said. And at the end of the day, we made the decision that we did to go in a different direction.”The expansion draft unfolded in anti-climactic fashion after all 30 selections leaked out hours before the expansion draft began.

The league released the protected lists of all 30 teams eligible for the expansion draft Sunday morning, July 18. (AP Photo/Phelan Ebenhack, File) (Phelan Ebenhack)SEATTLE — (AP) — The first roster for the Seattle Kraken won’t include Carey Price. The Montreal Canadiens goaltender was not selected by the Kraken in the NHL expansion draft, according to a person with direct knowledge of the decision. But early indications are Seattle will emerge from the expansion draft well under the $81.5 million cap, potentially by $20 million or more. It was one of at least two signings the Kraken got done before submitting their expansion draft selections.

SEATTLE — (AP) — Adam Larsson and Chris Driedger are going to the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft. One person with knowledge of Larsson’s deal said the defenseman has agreed to terms with Seattle on a $16 million, four-year contract. Larsson, a 28-year-old from Sweden, was a pending free agent the Edmonton Oilers were interested in re-signing. The Florida Panthers expected to lose Driedger, either to the Kraken or in free agency. The Kraken have also been linked to Dallas Stars defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, a pending free agent.

The Seattle Kraken have set their initial roster.

Expect a fast and furious NHL offseason to unfold in the coming days and weeks.

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

Alex Killorn scored a pair of second-period goals and the Tampa Bay Lightning rebounded from its first postseason loss to rout the Florida Panthers 6-2 and take a commanding 3-1 lead in the first-round Central Division playoff matchup.

Ryan Lomberg scored on a breakaway 5:56 into overtime to cap a furious comeback and give the Florida Panthers a 6-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 of their first-round playoff matchup.

Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has stopped 63 of 65 shots from the Minnesota Wild over the first two games of their West Division playoff series.

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.

The Tampa Bay Lightning started three Black forwards in their regular-season finale against the Florida Panthers on Monday night, a rarity in NHL history — if not an absolute first. “First of all, they’re all in the NHL for a reason,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. Florida forward Anthony Duclair, who is Black, said he noticed it in the Panthers’ locker room pregame and was moved. Smith was in his fifth game of the season and Joseph has been in the lineup for all 56 Tampa Bay games in 2020-21. ... Coop did something really special here to promote this for young kids.”___AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.

The Tampa Bay Lightning started three Black forwards in their regular-season finale against the Florida Panthers, a rarity in NHL history — if not an absolute first.

The Lightning opened the game with the first all-Black line in NHL history -- Mathieu Joseph, Gemel Smith and Daniel Walcott. The Panthers had the best point percentage in team history, best home record and best road record. COOPER’S MARKThis was the eighth full season on the Tampa Bay bench for Lightning coach Jon Cooper. He is 42 games shy of tying Doug Jarvis’ NHL record. Tampa Bay had five players appear in all 56 games -- Joseph, Brayden Point, Mikhail Sergachev, Yanni Gourde and Alex Killorn.

Chris Driedger stopped 30 shots to record his third shutout of the season, Juho Lammikko scored a short-handed goal, and the Florida Panthers secured home-ice advantage for the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the regular season finale for both clubs.

Florida’s 6-1-2 start through nine games is the second-best in franchise history, topped only by the 6-0-3 record to open the 1996-97 season. “We've been consistent in most games," Florida coach Joel Quenneville said. Starting poorly, however, has pretty much snuffed out some Panthers seasons before they even started. The five Florida teams that went to the playoffs — 1995-96, 1996-97, 1999-2000, 2011-12 and 2015-16 — averaged 12 standings points through the season’s first nine games. There’s obviously a long way to go, but the Panthers finally have the start they wanted.