DAVID SAVARD

Ondrej Palat scored 36 seconds into overtime after Tampa Bay teammate Corey Perry tied it late in the third period, and the Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 in the first NHL game following an extended holiday break.

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

“Now it’s fast and furious trying to figure out what they can get done.”And not much time to do it. Lawton, now an NHL Network analyst, said it's going to feel like the shortest offseason in league history. This offseason is a big opportunity for teams to chart a course to attempt to follow the Lightning as Stanley Cup champions. “Everyone understands the reality.”For the Lightning and 31 other NHL teams, the reality is everything will happen fast. ___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.

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

APTOPIX Stanley Cup Hockey Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Ross Colton (79) reacts after scoring on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price during the second period in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals, Wednesday, July 7, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) (Gerry Broome)TAMPA, Fla. — (AP) — Ross Colton scored off a pass from David Savard to put the Tampa Bay Lightning 20 minutes away from their second straight Stanley Cup title. Savard set up Colton's goal with 6:33 left in the second to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead over the Montreal Canadiens after two periods in Game 5 of the final Wednesday night. Colton stunted the momentum Montreal had built in the second period and put more than 17,000 fans at Amalie Arena one step closer to party time. Colton and Savard are the only two players in the Tampa Bay lineup without their names engraved on the Stanley Cup. But the second belonged to the Canadiens until Colton scored.

Stanley Cup Hockey Montreal Canadiens right wing Josh Anderson (17) scores past Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during the first period of Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup final in Montreal, Monday, July 5, 2021. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press via AP) (Paul Chiasson)MONTREAL — (AP) — Josh Anderson scored and Carey Price stopped 12 shots, sending the Montreal Canadiens into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead over the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night. Looking to avoid a four-game sweep, the Canadiens took their first lead of the series when Anderson converted Nick Suzuki’s pass into the slot at 15:39. Otherwise, Montreal had been thoroughly outplayed by the Lightning in being outshot 11-1 before Anderson’s goal. The 33-year-old Price got a glove up to stop Nikita Sergachev’s snapshot from the right circle in the opening minute of Game 4.

Josh Anderson scored and Carey Price stopped 12 shots, sending the Montreal Canadiens into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead over the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night. Looking to avoid a four-game sweep, the Canadiens took their first lead of the series when Anderson converted Nick Suzuki’s pass into the slot at 15:39.

Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos each had two goals and an assist, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-4 to open a commanding lead in their second-round playoff series.

Alex Killorn and Anthony Cirelli scored while Andrei Vasilevskiy was strong in net once again, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 for a 2-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.

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.

(AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (Charles Krupa)Just when the New York Islanders got finished with Jeff Carter lighting it up against them with Pittsburgh, they face another significant trade deadline pickup in Taylor Hall and the Boston Bruins. The Islanders might not even be in the second round if not for a trade to get Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac from New Jersey. The Bruins also needed Mike Reilly arguably as much as Hall in the first round after their blue line was hit with injuries. From Hall and Reilly to Palmieri and Zajac and David Savard with the Tampa Bay Lightning, trade deadline acquisitions big and small are already paying major dividends in the NHL playoffs. They paid the price of a first-round pick this year to get rugged, big-minute defenseman David Savard from Columbus at the deadline.

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

Andrei Vasilevskiy wrapped up a series with a Game 6 shutout for the second straight time, stopping 29 shots in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 4-0 victory over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning went into the NHL trade deadline without much money to make a move.

All divisional play through the first two rounds of the playoffs made a major impact at the NHL trade deadline.

The Washington Capitals have made a blockbuster deal to acquire Anthony Mantha from the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL's trade deadline.

Some of the NHL's top teams got a head start on the trade deadline by making moves.

The NHL did not specify which team prompted the postponement, though four Hurricanes players were added to the COVID-19 list Tuesday. The NHL already postponed the start of the Dallas Stars' season after six players and two staff members tested positive for the virus. Hurricanes players Warren Foegele, Jordan Martinook, Jaccob Slavin and Teuvo Teravainen joined captain Jordan Staal on the unavailable list because of COVID-19 protocols. The teams aren’t scheduled to play again in Nashville until the end of the season with back-to-back games on May 7-8. Now the Predators, who gave players Tuesday off after the postponement, are scheduled to visit Dallas on Friday night for the Stars' season opener.