NIKITA KUCHEROV

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.

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.

Brayden Point scored on a rebound with 1:56 remaining in overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs and force a Game 7 in the first round playoff series between the Atlantic Division rivals.

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.

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.

Most Russian players in the National Hockey League have remained silent about their country's invasion of Ukraine.

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.

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.

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.

Tampa Bay Lightning right winger Nikita Kucherov dumped his drink on a reporter's head as he was interviewed at a celebratory boat parade in Florida.

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.

The Lightning are the first team to go back-to-back championships since the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

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

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.

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.

On Monday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning prepare to take on the Montreal Canadiens in game one of the Stanley Cup Finals. Not just because they are the defending Stanley Cup champions, but also because they have the best offensive weapons in the postseason. The top-five scorers this postseason are all off of the Tampa Bay roster, with Nikita Kucherov leading the pack. Watch the Stanley Cup Finals on FuboTV (7-day free trial)Montreal is, once again, the underdog heading into this series. What: Stanley Cup FinalsWho: (4) Montreal Canadiens vs. (2) Tampa Bay Lightning (Game 1)When: Monday, June 28Time: 8:00 p.m.

Montreal Canadiens forward Joel Armia has been cleared to travel to Tampa after going into NHL COVID-19 protocol on the eve of the Stanley Cup Final.

Andrei Vasilevskiy had 18 saves and Yanni Gourde scored a short-handed goal to help the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 1-0 in Game 7 of their NHL playoff semifinal series.

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.

Anthony Beauvillier scored 1:08 into overtime and the New York Islanders rallied to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 to force a deciding Game 7 in their Stanley Cup semifinal series.

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.

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.

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.

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 Tampa Bay Lightning over the Florida Panthers 5-4 to take Game 1 of their playoff series.

The Tampa Bay Lightning were introduced to the National Hockey League in 1992, with the Florida Panthers arriving a year later. Tacking on the Panthers years of both futility and mediocrity, the two have never met in the playoffs. Watch the Stanley Cup Playoffs on FuboTV (7-day free trial)In their first ever meeting in the postseason, the Panthers come into the series with home ice advantage as the no. Even though, on paper, some may view the Panthers as underdogs, they were able to take the regular season series from the Bolts, winning five of the eight meetings, including two at Amalie Arena. What: NHL PlayoffsWho: (3) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (2) Florida PanthersWhen: Sunday, May 16Time: 7:30 PM ETWhere: BB&T Center (Sunrise, Fla.)Channel: NBC Sports NetworkStream: FuboTV (7-day free trial)

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 defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning went into the NHL trade deadline without much money to make a move.

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 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).

EDMONTON, AB – Nikita Kucherov and the Tampa Bay Lightning got themselves up off the ice to get even in the Stanley Cup Final. It was the first time in seven games Tampa Bay scored the opening goal. But Dallas interim coach Rick Bowness challenged that Tampa Bay was offside, and replay clearly showed that Blake Coleman was. ... Kucherov’s 28 points (six goals, 22 assists) are the most ever in a postseason for a Tampa Bay player. The Lightning have started all three of the Stanley Cup Final appearances the same way, losing Game 1 and then winning Game 2.

This is a Stanley Cup matchup for all of those who like their games to be a bit defensive. “In today’s NHL you need that for your team to be successful,” Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said Friday. “We're not surprised,” Stars defenseman John Klingberg said. ... He’s doing it all right now.”The Stars signed 14-year veteran Andrej Sekera as a free agent last summer, and he is finally in his first Stanley Cup Final with his fifth team. “Everyone is obviously very hungry to go all of the way,” said Hedman, part of Tampa Bay's loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final five years ago.

Tampa Bay Lightning Brayden Point (21) take a shot as Buffalo Sabres' goalie Linus Ullman defends during an NHL hockey game in Globen Arena, Stockholm Sweden. (Anders Wiklund/TT via AP)STOCKHOLM Nikita Kucherov scored and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves to help the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 on Friday night in the first of their two regular-season games in the Swedish capital. Alex Killorn and Yanni Gourde also scored for the Lightning. NOTES: It was the 27th NHL regular-season game in Europe, 12th in Sweden and 11th at Ericsson Globe. UP NEXTThe Sabres and Lightning complete the two-game series in Stockholm on Saturday night.