STEVEN STAMKOS

The Tampa Bay Lightning are headed to the Eastern Conference finals for the sixth time in eight years after sweeping the Florida Panthers in four games.

It could be pop country artist Kane Brown's fault if their series ends less than a week before it started. An arena conflict in Tampa with Brown's concert forced Games 3 and 4 to be played back to back. It's been all Tampa Bay since, with Florida scoring a total of three goals through three games. Credit reigning playoff MVP goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and his Lightning teammates who are blocking shots, but for whatever reason the situation is dire for the Panthers. That streak ended with a loss to Tampa Bay, which is on the verge of reaching the Eastern Conference final for a fourth time in five seasons.

The Florida Panthers are on the brink of getting swept out of the second round of the playoffs by the back-to-back defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning.

Steven Stamkos scored two goals and Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 5-1 to move to the brink of another trip to the Eastern Conference final.

(Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP) (Frank Gunn)Turns out a two-goal lead is the safest lead in the first round of the NHL playoffs. The first week of the NHL playoffs has been a stark contrast to the regular season that was full of multigoal comebacks and furious finishes. “In the regular season, you’re just not as dialed in and you have some teams that just don’t do it that often. Almost a quarter of all goals have come on the power play, up from 19% in the regular season. “You can throw the scores out,” Minnesota coach Dean Evason said midway through his team’s series against rival St. Louis.

Ross Colton scored twice, Andrei Vasilevskiy had 22 saves and the Tampa Bay Lightning got off to a fast start and beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-3 in Game 4 to even their first-round playoff series.

Jack Campbell had 32 saves — including three to protect the lead on a late power play — and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.

APTOPIX Lightning Maple Leafs Hockey Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman (77) celebrates his goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs with center Steven Stamkos (91) during the first period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs first-round series Wednesday, May 4, 2022, in Toronto. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP) (Frank Gunn)TORONTO — (AP) — Victor Hedman had a goal and three assists for his first four-point playoff game and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 on Wednesday night in Game 2 to even the first-round series. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves in a bounce-back performance after the Lightning dropped the opener 5-0. The Lightning opened the scoring on a power play with 1.4 seconds left in the first period. Marner got one back for Toronto with 8:07 left and Kerfoot scored the Maple Leafs’ second short-handed goal of the series with 4:17.

Lightning Maple Leafs Hockey Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (91) and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) try to defend against Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) during the second period of Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Toronto, Monday, May 2, 2022. Jake Muzzin scored and David Kampf added a goal on a short-handed breakaway for Toronto, which killed off five Lightning power plays, including an early five-minute major. The second game of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday in Toronto. Teams that have won the series opener hold an all-time record of 499-228, including a 9-6 mark last season. The third and fourth games in the series are set for Friday and Sunday in Tampa.

Biden Lightning Hockey President Joe Biden poses for a photo after speaking during an event to celebrate the Tampa Bay Lightning's 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup championships at the White House, Monday, April 25, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON — (AP) — Joe Biden avoided politics Monday while honoring the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning for winning the Stanley Cup in each of the past two seasons. Russian players Andrei Vasilevskiy, Nikita Kucherov and Mikhail Sergachev attended the White House and shared photos on social media. Despite the Lightning winning the Stanley Cup three times — in 2004, 2020 and 2021 — it was the organization's first time visiting a sitting president at the White House. ___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 2022 The Associated Press.

President Joe Biden avoided politics in honoring the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning for winning the Stanley Cup in each of the past two seasons.

The Tampa Bay Lightning haven't been through struggles like this in many years.

Steven Stamkos had a goal and two assists as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 to spoil the first outdoor game in Music City.

Most of the world’s best hockey players are spending this weekend in Las Vegas instead of the Olympic village in Beijing.

Anthony Duclair scored twice, Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and four assists, and the Florida Panthers romped to a 9-3 rout of the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.

A handful of NHL players are voicing frustration over the decision not to allow them to go to the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Lightning Golden Knights Hockey Vegas Golden Knights center Mattias Janmark (26) eyes the puck after colliding withTampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (91) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021, in Las Vegas. Baskow)After shutting down for a week, the NHL resumes play Tuesday with three games on the schedule amid hopes that its extended holiday break caused by a rash of positive COVID-19 test results will set the stage for the league to complete an already upended season. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning won’t have either of its top goaltenders or their coach for its game against Montreal. Coach Peter DeBoer is out for the Vegas Golden Knights’ game at Los Angeles. The league on Monday postponed three more games slated for later this week to bring the total to 70 this season.

The NHL is set to resume Tuesday with three games on the schedule after an extended holiday break.

The NHL has announced that players won't be able to participate in the Beijing Olympics.

Steven Stamkos scored the tiebreaking goal on a third-period power play and the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied past the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in the final NHL game before an extended holiday break.

Ondrej Palat scored with 2:17 left in overtime, lifting the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 7-6 comeback win over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night.

Lightning Parade Hockey Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos holds up the Stanley Cup as the team celebrates their Stanley Cup victory with a boat parade Monday, July 12, 2021 in Tampa, Fla. (Dirk Shadd/Tampa Bay Times via AP) (Dirk Shadd)TAMPA, Fla. — (AP) — Captain Steven Stamkos wore a T-shirt bearing the message “BACK TO BOAT” and setting the tone for another signature Champa Bay celebration. The back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning were toasted with a boat parade on the Hillsborough River for the second time in 10 months, with thousands of fans no longer burdened by COVID-19 restrictions gathering downtown to join the fun. The scene — five days after the Lightning closed out a five-game Stanley Cup Final win over the Montreal Canadiens — hardly resembled the riverfront gathering organized after the team won last year's title while playing in empty arenas because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Lombardi Trophy weighs seven pounds, while the Stanley Cup is 34 1/2 pounds. But the divers weren't needed as the Cup was handed safely from boat to boat.

The NHL ended its 16-year partnership with NBC after Game 5 of the 2021 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.

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

Playoff scoring leader Nikita Kucherov had two goals and an assist and Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 18 saves to outplay Carey Price and lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

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.

The Tampa Bay Lightning haven’t lost consecutive postseason games in over two years and haven’t faced a winner-take-all challenge since 2018.

Stamkos ignited a three-goal opening period — the first against the Islanders all season — by scoring just 45 seconds into the game. Point has scored a goal in eight straight games, the second-longest stretch within a single postseason in NHL history. Vasilevskiy, meanwhile, stopped all 21 shots he faced for his third playoff shutout this year. It’s the longest such streak in NHL history, and Vasilevskiy has been the goaltender in each of the victories. QUICK STARTERSThe Lightning are 11-1 when scoring the first goal this postseason, 0-4 when they haven't.

Steven Stamkos had two goals and an assist and Andrei Vasilevskiy notched his fourth career playoff shutout, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning rout the New York Islanders 8-0 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup semifinal series.

The New York Islanders are facing a familiar scenario again, trailing 2-1 in a series after a narrow loss in Game 3 at home.

Experience is an invaluable ally in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Brayden Point and Ross Colton scored and Andrei Vasilevskiy controlled the crease, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 on Tuesday night to win the second-round playoff series in five games.

Each team scored four goals in the second, with the Lightning turning a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 lead. Stamkos and Kucherov scored on the power play and Tyler Johnson also beat Petr Mrazek in the final 5:22 of the period. Kucherov, who has 17 points in 10 playoff games this year, began the comeback with a power-play goal. Kucherov scored off a nice pass from Ondrej Palat for a 6-4 lead just over six minutes into the final period. Carolina went six straight games giving up the first goal until taking a 2-0 lead against the Lightning in Game 3.

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.

The star-studded Tampa Bay Lightning beam when talking about the contributions of Barclay Goodrow, a physical third-line forward playing a largely unheralded role in the team’s bid to repeat as Stanley Cup champions.

The Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning open their second-round playoff series Sunday.

“We’re playing for each other and he’s obviously a key part,” Islanders forward Mathew Barzal said of Lee. The rest of the captains who are playing are making good on the sports cliché of leading by example. “The way he played, the way he showed up for every game, that’s a sign of a real true leader,” teammate Andre Burakovsky said. But certainly how he approaches the game, prepares for each game, each shift is something that reflects upon the entire team.”That's Bergeron, too. ___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.

Captains are leading the way into the second round of the NHL playoffs.

Panthers Lightning Hockey Florida Panthers right wing Patric Hornqvist (70) leads the team to congratulate the Tampa Bay Lightning after the Lightning defeated the Florida Panthers during Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Wednesday, May 26, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) (Chris O'Meara)TAMPA, Fla. — (AP) — 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. Tampa Bay advanced to the second round for the fifth time in the past seven years. The Panthers have not won a playoff series since the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals. The roughing penalty led to Tampa Bay’s second power-play chance of the game and second goal.

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

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.

It's the seventh time that the Lightning have won the first two games a series, the third time doing so on the road. Mason Marchment had the goal for Florida, which dropped consecutive games on home ice for only the second time this season. A couple of bounces — one off a Panther, the other off a post — staked Tampa Bay to a 2-0 lead in the opening period. But the Panthers never got the equalizer, and Gourde's easy one sealed matters for the Lightning. LOOKING AHEADTampa Bay was 21-7-0 at home this season, but Florida was the only team to beat the Lightning twice in their rink.

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.

Or perhaps it's just a taste of what's to come in their opening-round Sunshine State series. “Very intense game," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. WILD vs. GOLDEN KNIGHTS, Minnesota leads series 1-0 (10 p.m. EDT, NBC Sports Network)In Las Vegas, Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer is searching for offense. Playing for the first time since April 24, Tomas Nosek was inserted into the Golden Knights’ top line, but replaced in the second period. The Golden Knights will be desperate for a win before the series moves to Minnesota, where their record is 0-6-2.

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.

Florida was second in the Central Division, Tampa Bay third. “I think we made giant strides over the course of the year, from this year to last year,” Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. He missed the entire regular season with a hip injury. “The big thing for me is to not sit here and say ‘Kucherov is coming back, like all problems are solved,’” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “We haven’t had our full team,” Tampa Bay defenseman Ryan McDonagh said.

There used to be a thing called the Governor’s Cup, a trophy presented to whichever team won the annual regular season series between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Media pundits believe the rights package of NHL's new seven-year deal with ESPN is worth $400 million per year. But post-breakup, ESPN continued to value NHL content by centering coverage around longtime analyst Barry Melrose. Dan Cohen, senior vice president of Octagon's Global Media Rights Consulting division, said the NHL could solicit more than $600 million annually for its entire package. He added that the NHL "would be best served to renew its other rights package with NBC, who has invested heavily in marketing the NHL and who can offer a tri-cast distribution model." "Something that has as much volume as hockey, they can go with a tri-cast model across ABC, ESPN, and ESPN+/Hulu."

Many partied while defying a local order mandating masks even be worn outdoors during Super Bowl week, and drawing sharp criticism from some public officials. The Lightning won the Stanley Cup and the Rays went to the World Series. Those guys had our backs throughout the season, both the Tampa Bay Rays and the Tampa Bay Lightning. They were rooting us on.”AdSome of the Lightning players wore Bucs jerseys on the team’s flight to Nashville, too. “We try to watch the Super Bowl every year.

(AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)TAMPA, Fla. – Warren Sapp wishes fans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could pack the stands for the first Super Bowl played in a host team’s home stadium. The Bucs won three straight playoff games on the road to become the first team to advance to a Super Bowl in its home stadium. “The Bucs in the Super Bowl with the game at home doesn’t even seem real. "Tom Brady comes to town and it’s basically: `You want to go to the Super Bowl? Super Bowl Sunday will be a travel day for the hockey champions, so they won’t be in town during the game.

San Jose's Erik Karlsson (65) handles the puck against Minnesota Wild's Nick Bjugstad (27) in the third period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021, in St. Paul, Minn. San Jose won 5-3. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)With an outbreak delaying the Dallas Stars' opener, Rick Bowness got to watch a lot of hockey in the first couple of nights of the NHL season. “It was entertaining hockey, but it was a little sloppy,” Bowness said. “We’re staying in 5-star hotels, get to play hockey, so I can’t complain,” defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic said. Ad___Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Kameron Bush, 3, poses with the Stanley Cup at the Children's Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., on Oct. 16, 2020. The Tampa Bay Lightning took the Stanley Cup to the Children's Cancer Center as part of their local tour of stops after winning the National Hockey League's championship trophy Sept. 28 in Edmonton, Alberta. (Kristina Hjertkvist/Tampa Bay Lightning via AP)Remy Heberlein’s grandmother joked he shouldn’t touch the Stanley Cup with chocolate on his hands. This wasn’t like any other year when the NHL champions could take the Stanley Cup wherever they want. Officials from the team and Children’s Cancer Center and the keepers of the Cup came up with an intricate plan: a 90-minute outdoor gathering with hand sanitizer stations and families waiting in their cars until their 3 minutes with players and the trophy.

(AP Photo/Tony Avelar)The Latest on Week 4 in the NFL (all times EDT)___8:35 p.m.Carson Wentz has thrown his NFL-worst seventh interception of the season for the Philadelphia Eagles. ___7:05 p.m.Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s 1-yard sneak that gave Buffalo a 23-16 lead over Las Vegas early in the fourth quarter. ___7:20 p.m.Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is back guiding the Bills offense after injuring his left shoulder late in the first half at Las Vegas. ___6:40 p.m.Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen headed to the locker room after falling on his left wrist. The high-scoring start to the 2020 NFL season continued Sunday with several games featuring lots of points and very little defense.

The triumph of winning the NHL championship in a bubble was certainly no less sweet for the Tampa Bay Lightning. He played 964 regular-season and 137 playoff games to get to this point, losing in the final twice before. Tampa Bay had Point and No. Coach Jon Cooper thought the attitude needed to change from wanting to beat every opponent 9-0 because that’s not realistic in playoff hockey. ... Alexander Volkov made his NHL playoff debut for Tampa Bay, which also saw Patrick Maroon become just the eighth player to win the Cup in back-to-back seasons with different teams (St. Louis).

TAMPA, Fla. – A neighbor called sheriff’s deputies on some rabid Tampa Bay Lightning fans who were screaming, “Shoot! The call prompted several Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputies to show up at Devon Garnett’s apartment door. He and two friends had gathered to watch the game at Garnett’s Radius Palms apartment. “So they came to the door and thought there were guns in the house,” Garnett, 26, told the Tampa Bay Times. “But they thought it was serious because I was screaming, ‘Shoot!’ as in ‘Shoot the puck.’”Tampa beat Dallas 5-2 in Game 3 and lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.

After consecutive games with three-goal periods, Tampa Bay has all of the momentum and a 2-1 series lead. Dallas' top line is without a goal against Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay then went ahead in Game 3 with two goals in an 85-second span before three goals in the second period of a 5-2 win. The NHL is playing Stanley Cup Final games on back-to-back nights for the first time since 2009, when Detroit won each of the first two games against Pittsburgh, which eventually won the series in seven games. In its only back-to-back this postseason, Tampa Bay won Games 2 and 3 in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against Boston.

TORONTO, ONT Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper took exception to the Columbus Blue Jackets being referred to as a blue-collar team. Is that a positive or a negative? Cooper said Monday, a day before his Eastern Conference second-seeded Lightning open the first round of the NHL playoffs against the seventh-seeded Blue Jackets. Thats in the history books forever, Cooper said, noting how both teams have made various changes to their lineups. Id call them a really good team.Familiarity is breeding respect among the East opponents entering the first round. The Islanders hold a 5-2 playoff series edge over Washington.

Voluntary player workouts have been going on for more than a month, but full NHL teams will be together Monday for the first time since March. (Its about) trying to make sure that when you come back your hips and groins are all right, Copp said. Its a two-week sprint from home cities to Toronto for Eastern teams and Edmonton, Alberta, for their Western counterparts. The NHL is prohibiting teams from revealing injury or illness information as a way to project player privacy with the novel coronavirus. But I think everyone is just kind of amped and ready to go.___For more AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Stamkos will be limited at the start of Tampa training camp because of a new lower-body injury, general manager Julien BriseBois said Saturday, July 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)Captain Steven Stamkos will be limited at the start of Tampa Bay Lightning training camp because of a new lower-body injury. Stamkos is expected to be ready for the start of the NHL's expanded 24-team Stanley Cup playoffs in early August. Hes here, hes skating, hes been getting treatment, hes been coming to Amalie (Arena) doing his dry land work. But he will not be a full participant on Day One of training camp."