AARON EKBLAD

Paul Maurice’s journey toward becoming the new coach of the Florida Panthers included a fortuitous flick of the remote control, plus was aided by a college admissions department.

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 Florida Panthers found what made them the NHL's best regular-season team just in time to win the franchise's first playoff series in 26 years.

The pressure is squarely on the Florida Panthers, New York Rangers and Calgary Flames down two games to one in their respective first-round series.

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.

The eight playoff teams in the Eastern Conference have been set since before the All-Star break.

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.

Andrew Brunette is ready to coach the Florida Panthers for as long as the team needs.

Joel Quenneville resigned as coach of the Florida Panthers on Thursday, two days after the second-winningest coach in NHL history was among those implicated for not swiftly responding to allegations by a Chicago Blackhawks player of being sexually assaulted by another coach during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs.

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.

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

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

The Red Wings have lost six consecutive road games. “It’s as bad as we’ve played defensively in a while,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “It took us too long to get into this game tonight,” Red Wings center Dylan Larkin said. Verhaeghe’s second goal, a wraparound that went airborne and in at 12:11 of the second, stretched the Panthers lead to 4-1. Red Wings: Jonathan Bernier: day to day (lower body), Bobby Ryan: day to day (upper body), Marc Staal: day to day (upper body).

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - FEBRUARY 19: Luke Glendening #41 of the Detroit Red Wings tries to get around Aaron Ekblad #5 of the Florida Panthers during the second period at Little Caesars Arena on February 19, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)The Detroit Red Wings will be sellers this year when the NHL trade deadline approaches April 12. Several of the team’s veteran players are being mentioned as possible targets: Forwards Bobby Ryan and Luke Glendening, and defenseman Marc Staal. Here’s what TSN’s Hockey Insider Frank Seravalli said on Tuesday:“I think teams are beginning to look at three potential targets from the Detroit Red Wings. All veteran presences, including Bobby Ryan, Luke Glendening and, on the backend, Marc Staal.

It was a close game, but it didn’t feel like that.”Bobrovsky allowed an early goal but was able to stop the Red Wings the rest of the way. It was a good win for us.”AdFilip Zadina scored for the Red Wings. The Red Wings have lost nine of 10. “We had some chances on the power play, but we need to score.”Zadina put the Red Wings ahead 1-0 at the 3:31 mark of the first. The Red Wings visit the Nashville Predators on Thursday.

A familiar script unfolded Tuesday for the Detroit Red Wings -- they had an opportunity to win but didn’t cash in on the power play. The Florida Panthers won the special teams battle and defeated the Red Wings 2-1 at BB&T Center. The Red Wings are 0 for 16 on the power play in their past six games. Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves to improve to 17-5-1 lifetime against the Red Wings. The Red Wings wrap up this six-game road trip, their longest of the season, at Nashville Thursday and Saturday.

He also fought Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad, the third component of the “Gordie Howe Hat Trick.”Here’s the Smith goal:Smitty's 2nd period tally. Smith, just 22, was selected by Detroit in the 2nd round (46th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft. He played his first 21 NHL games with Detroit last year, scoring 2 goals and an assist. This season he already has 1 goal and 3 assists in six games with the Red Wings. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JANUARY 24: Givani Smith #48 of the Detroit Red Wings fires a shot against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on January 24, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois.

Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, left, and Detroit Red Wings right wing Givani Smith fight during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)SUNRISE, Fla. – Givani Smith had a goal and an assist as Detroit Red Wings won for the first time in nine games, beating the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Sunday. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) (2021 Getty Images)Greiss, who moved to 1-7-2, stopped a three-on-one Florida break with the Red Wings ahead 2-1 in the third period. Sam Gagner notched his first assist with the Red Wings on the goal. After getting into four games for the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, Marchment played left wing on the fourth line with right wing Noel Acciari and center Juho Lammikko. AdON THE MENDRed Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi was injured when Florida visited Detroit last week and is expected to miss a few more games.

Patric Hornqvist, Aaron Ekblad, and Carter Verhaeghe scored and the Florida Panthers held off the Detroit Red Wings for a 3-2 win Sunday night. Anthony Mantha scored with 1:48 remaining to pull the Red Wings within a goal after Detroit pulled Thomas Greiss to add an extra skater. “Getting off to a good start enhances that attitude.”Greiss stopped 27 shots for the Red Wings, who have dropped six straight. The Panthers outshot the Red Wings 17-9 in the second period as they took control. The Red Wings play the Lighting on the road Wednesday night.

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - JANUARY 30: Dylan Larkin #71 of the Detroit Red Wings skates against the Florida Panthers at Little Caesars Arena on January 30, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)DETROIT – Patric Hornqvist, Aaron Ekblad and Carter Verhaeghe scored and the Florida Panthers held off the Detroit Red Wings for a 3-2 win Sunday night. “Getting off to a good start enhances that attitude.”Greiss stopped 27 shots for the Red Wings, who have dropped six straight. The Panthers outshot the Red Wings 17-9 in the second period as they took control. The Red Wings play the Lighting on the road Wednesday night.

The Florida Panthers will have a new general manager next season, making the announcement early Monday that Dale Tallon is leaving the franchise after 10 years. For the last decade, Dale raised the teams profile, attracted key players to South Florida and brought character and class to our franchise, Viola said. And Roberto Luongo, the longtime Panthers goalie whose jersey was retired by the club earlier this year, is expected to remain with Florida. Luongo was brought on this season as a special advisor to Tallon, but is not believed to be a GM candidate. And if Quenneville turns the Panthers into a winner, once again Tallon will be watching from elsewhere.