Lightning strike early, beat Maple Leafs 7-3 to even series
Corey Perry and Ondrej Palat also scored, and Brandon Hagel and Nikita Kucherov each had two assists for the Lightning. William Nylander scored twice and Jake Muzzin also had a goal for the Maple Leafs. Tampa Bay put the finishing touches on a dominant performance with empty-net goals by Palat and Colton in the final 5:20. They were all over the Maple Leafs from the start Sunday night, with Stamkos beating Campbell from just inside the blue line exactly one minute into the game. The Maple Leafs, meanwhile, were 0 for 2 in man-advantage situations before finally breaking through against Vasilevskiy with the first of Nylander’s two goals at 2:27 of the third.
wftv.comTampa Bay Lightning win second straight Stanley Cup
(Gerry Broome/Associated Press )TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning became the first team since 2017 to win back-to-back Stanley Cup titles, defeating the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 in Game 5 of the Finals on Wednesday night. The Lightning became the first home team to raise the Stanley Cup since 2015, when they lost to the Blackhawks in Chicago. It was the third Stanley Cup in franchise history for Tampa Bay, and the first on home ice after winning last season’s in the “bubble” in Edmonton, ESPN reported. Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy had a series-ending shutout for an NHL-record fifth consecutive time dating to the 2020 Stanley Cup final. Tampa Bay is now 15-0 in the playoffs after a loss since the opening round of the 2020 tournament.
wftv.comColton, Savard put Lightning 1 period away from Stanley Cup
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.
wftv.comMartin, Pulock help Isles top Lightning 3-2 to tie series
Matt Martin capped New York’s three-goal second period, Ryan Pulock made a diving stop in front of an open goal in the closing seconds and the Islanders held on to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 to even their Stanley Cup semifinal series at two games apiece.
Lightning, Islanders envision tight Stanley Cup semifinal
(AP Photo/Gerry Broome) (Gerry Broome)TAMPA, Fla. — (AP) — Experience is an invaluable ally in the Stanley Cup playoffs. There’s little the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning haven’t encountered during deep postseason runs five of the past seven years. The New York Islanders haven’t achieved as much but have progressed enough in three seasons under Barry Trotz to not feel like heavy underdogs in the Stanley Cup semifinals. Mathew Barzal (three goals, six assists) centers the top line with Leo Komarov and Jordan Eberle (three goals, five assists), followed by Brock Nelson (six goals, four assists) centering veteran Josh Bailey (five goals, six assists) and the speedy Anthony Beauvillier (four goals, seven assists). However, New York held the rest of the Bruins to just seven goals.
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