JON COOPER

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.

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.

The Tampa Bay Lightning don’t want to get ahead of themselves in their bid to become the first team in 40 years to win three consecutive Stanley Cup titles.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, Andrei Vasilevskiy remained red-hot with 34 saves and the Tampa Bay Lightning topped the Florida Panthers 4-1 in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The New York Rangers will play the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the NHL playoffs.

Comebacks are hard to come by so far in the NHL playoffs after they were so commonplace during the regular season.

The NHL playoffs are missing the close games and comebacks that seemingly comes annually with all the postseason intensity.

So much for the notion that goals are hard to come by in the playoffs.

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.

Marc-Andre Fleury may have been the biggest winner at the NHL trade deadline.

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.

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 Washington Capitals-Philadelphia Flyers game scheduled for Tuesday night has been postponed.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves, Anthony Cirelli had a goal and two assists, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat Washington 3-2 to end the Capitals’ eight-game season-opening point streak.

Tristan Jarry had 26 saves, Danton Heinen and Brian Boyle scored early second-period goals, and the short-handed Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 in the regular-season opener.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed Jon Cooper to a three-year extension through the 2024-25 season, rewarding their coach after the team won consecutive Stanley Cup titles.

The NHL and international officials are now in wait-and-see mode after reaching an agreement to send players to the Beijing Olympics this winter.

NHL players are going back to the Olympics.

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

Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after backstopping the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup for a second consecutive year.

Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks died of chest trauma from an errant fireworks mortar blast in what authorities described as a tragic accident on the Fourth of July.

Nikita Kucherov has led the Tampa Bay Lightning to the verge of a second consecutive Stanley Cup championship by doing a little bit of everything.

The Montreal Canadiens need more from their best offensive line in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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.

Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat delivered early goals and NHL playoff scoring leader Nikita Kucherov had three more assists to help the Tampa Bay Lightning rebound from a series-opening loss and beat the New York Islanders 4-2 in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup semifinals.

Experience is an invaluable ally in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

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.

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

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

Postseason experience can be a valuable asset in the NHL playoffs.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

It was the first day of training camp for Laviolette and the Washington Capitals and most of the NHL. Camps are now open for the league's 31 teams and they will last just 10 days. “You get a fresh start,” said Jeff Skinner of the Buffalo Sabres, who haven't played a game since March. “Most players would argue that camps are a little bit long anyway," Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. “I’ve been told from our team and from the league, when a player is not on the ice during training camp, we’re supposed to say he’s not available today,” Philadelphia coach Alain Vigneault said.

The Dallas Stars have to fix some things in a hurry, or this Stanley Cup Final could be over quickly. 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. 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.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) celebrates his touchdown with offensive tackle Donovan Smith (76) in the first half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020. The NFL roared back to life, even if the roar was from fans who weren’t in the stadiums. For the first time since Jan. 1, 2000 — when he was a senior at Michigan — Tom Brady played a football game in something other than a New England Patriots helmet. “I know how much comes along with that,” Cubs manager David Ross said after the second no-hitter of the season. That’s a special day for us, a special day for Alec Mills.

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.