NOEL ACCIARI

The Toronto Maple Leafs' latest bid to end a near 20-year run of failing to get past the first round of the playoffs revolves around the addition of center Ryan O'Reilly being acquired in a trade with St. Louis.

He's also performed well since Oct. 30 with eight points, 31 shots and 17 hits in 11 games while averaging 19:05. Phillip Danault, LA (Yahoo: 34%)In his first year with the Kings, Danault managed 27 goals and 24 assists supplemented by 194 shots, 74 hits and 49 blocks. And it's almost like he never missed five weeks, skating 19-plus minutes in both outings and contributing a goal with 11 shots. His numbers of late haven't been too encouraging, with just an assist, 11 shots, nine hits and eight blocks from the last two weeks. But as is a common theme in this column, the promise of a legitimate blueline power-play role — especially in deeper leagues — qualifies Ekholm as a recommendation.

The stunning finish put the Lightning up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series that heads to Tampa for Game 3 on Sunday. Tampa Bay's power play once again was the catalyst, producing Corey Perry's first-period goal after delivering three goals in the Lightning's 4-1 victory in Game 1. The Panthers scored the third-most power-play goals during the regular season, but entered the second game of the series 0 for 21 in man-advantage situations through seven postseason games. The Panthers also got another chance in the closing minutes of the third, but came up empty again. NOTES: Panthers interim coach Andrew Brunette is a finalist for NHL coach of the year, as is former Panthers coach Gerard Gallant of the New York Rangers and Calgary coach Darryl Sutter -- the brother of former Panthers coach Duane Sutter.

Ross Colton scored with just under four seconds remaining, giving the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning a 2-1 victory in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe each had a goal and an assist and the Florida Panthers topped the Washington Capitals 5-1 on Thursday night to even their Eastern Conference first-round series at a game apiece.

Red Wings Panthers Hockey Florida Panthers center Noel Acciari (55) scores past Detroit Red Wings goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (39) as Red Wings defenseman Jordan Oesterle (82), Panthers center Joe Thornton (19) and defenseman Gustav Lindstrom (28) look on during the first period of an NHL hockey game ,Thursday, April 21, 2022, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay) (Reinhold Matay)SUNRISE, Fla. — (AP) — The Florida Panthers are champions of the NHL's Atlantic Division. Aleksander Barkov scored his 38th goal of the season and the Panthers tied a franchise record with their 12th straight win, beating the Detroit Red Wings 5-2 on Thursday night. I think we’ve been able to do that all season long.”The Panthers scored three goals on seven shots in the first period. After Gagner’s wrist shot went under Bobrovsky’s glove to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead at 4:08, Acciari tied the score 1-all on a shot from the low slot at 9:19. The Panthers have the NHL’s best record, by far, in games in which they face a 1-0 deficit.

Aleksander Barkov scored his 38th goal of the season and the Florida Panthers tied a franchise record with their 12th straight win, beating the Detroit Red Wings 5-2.

Aleksander Barkov and the Florida Panthers have agreed on an $80 million, eight-year contract extension with an annual cap hit of $10 million.

The New York Islanders have evened their series with Pittsburgh by keeping Penguins star Sidney Crosby in check.

... We kind of sat back a little bit too much I thought” in the third period," said Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman, who had three assists. Anthony Cirelli, Ross Colton and Steven Stamkos scored in the first nine minutes of the second period. “Obviously not the second period we were looking for, but we know how good of a team we are. We were down 5-3 after that second period and we get the W,” Bobrovsky said. NICE TO BE HOMEThe Lightning played a playoff game at home for the first time since April 12, 2019, vs. Columbus.

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.