ANDREI VASILEVSKIY

Nathan MacKinnon saved his best performance in the Stanley Cup Final for when it mattered most.

The Avalanche took down the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Sunday in game 6 of the finals.

The Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t relinquish their stronghold on the Stanley Cup without a fight.

The Colorado Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup after dethroning the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Colorado Avalanche were stymied in their quest to close out the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Friday night.

The Tampa Bay Lightning spoiled Colorado’s party and they are still in the hunt for a third straight Stanley Cup title after beating the Avalanche 3-2 in Game 5.

Nazem Kadri scored at 12:02 of overtime — perhaps with too many Colorado players on the ice — and the Avalanche beat Tampa Bay 3-2 on Wednesday night in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final to move within a victory of dethroning the two-time defending champion Lightning.

Steven Stamkos, Pat Maroon and Ondrej Palat each had a goal and an assist, and the Tampa Bay Lightning scored four times in the second period and beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-2 in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.

The fast-flying Colorado Avalanche have zoomed out to a 2-0 series lead over Tampa Bay in the Stanley Cup Final.

The Tampa Bay Lightning shrugged off their overtime loss to Colorado in the opener of the Stanley Cup Final.

The Colorado Avalanche overwhelmed the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-0 in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

For much of the game it looked as if the Colorado Avalanche and not the Tampa Bay Lightning were the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.

Andre Burakovsky scored 1:23 into overtime and the Colorado Avalanche opened the Stanley Cup Final with a 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night.

The Stanley Cup Final is a showdown between the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning and the high-scoring Colorado Avalanche.

At 32 and wrapping up his 14th season, Steven Stamkos is no longer one of the NHL’s most prolific scorers or even the second- or third-best player on his own team.

The two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning face the best in the West Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final beginning Wednesday in Denver.

Steven Stamkos scored two goals and the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning are headed to the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight year after beating the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final.

Mikhail Sergachev scored his second goal of the game with 1:50 remaining to break a tie and lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday night for a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference final.

The New York Rangers have been in a similar position before in this postseason — looking to reverse the momentum back home after dropping two games on the road.

Nikita Kucherov scored on a breakaway and Andrei Vasilevskiy had 33 saves , helping the Tampa Bay Lightning shut down the New York Rangers 4-1 and even the NHL’s Eastern Conference final at two games apiece.

Ondrej Palat scored with 42 seconds left and the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Rangers 3-2 on Sunday to cut their deficit in the Eastern Conference finals to 2-1.

There’s no panic in the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Mika Zibanejad scored in the third period, Igor Shesterkin stopped 29 shots and the New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 to take a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Filip Chytil scored twice in the second period and the New York Rangers routed the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Andrei Vasilevskiy has won a Vezina Trophy and two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

There will be a Presidents’ Trophy banner hanging over the Florida Panthers’ home ice next season.

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.

Andrei Vasilevskiy had 49 saves and the Tampa Bay Lightning completed a four-game sweep of the Florida Panthers with a 2-0 victory that sends the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions back to the Eastern Conference final for the sixth time in eight years.

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.

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.

Jack Cambell 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.

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

The first-round matchups are set for the NHL playoffs that begin Monday.

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.

Sam Reinhart scored his 30th and 31st goals for the Panthers.

Victor Hedman scored twice, Mikhail Sergachev had a goal and two assists and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3 on Sunday night. Hedman, Corey Perry and Sergachev scored Tampa Bay's last three goals in a 32-second span in the third. “We were shooting pucks, and good things happen,” Hedman said.

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.

Washington star Alexander Ovechkin and high-scoring Edmonton teammates Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl headline the rosters for the NHL All-Star Weekend announced Thursday.

Mika Zibanejad had his eighth career hat trick, Igor Shesterkin stopped 38 shots for his second shutout of the season and the New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0.

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 NHL will emerge from an extended holiday break with taxi squads and other roster revisions to guard against more disruptions to the season.

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.

Florida has a four-game winless streak (0-2-2) since starting the season 10-0-1.

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.

The NHL returned to ESPN with a doubleheader that averaged 884,000 viewers, and TNT's coverage attracted more than 669,000 viewers.

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.

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.

Blake Coleman converted a short-handed penalty shot and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 20 shots for his 26th career shutout to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-0 victory against the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.