RYAN MCDONAGH

After the San Jose Sharks missed the NHL playoffs for a third straight season for the first time in franchise history, Tomas Hertl is determined to turn things around.

Johnny Gaudreau leaving Calgary for Columbus headlined a busy offseason of player movement around the NHL.

Confronted by the harsh reality of the Tampa Bay Lightning moving on from him and with memories still fresh of being on the wrong side of the Stanley Cup championship handshake line, Ryan McDonagh approved a trade to the Nashville Predators. The Predators also lost to the Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche when they were swept out of the first round. In adding McDonagh and re-signing Filip Forsberg, Nashville hopes it’s beginning to close the gap on Colorado.

Julien BriseBois wanted to explain his plan to Ryan McDonagh in person, laying out exactly why he was asking the veteran defenseman to waive his no-trade clause. After one of the most difficult conversations in his tenure as general manager, BriseBois made perhaps his toughest move yet during the Tampa Bay Lightning’s run of success by trading a prominent member of two Stanley Cup championship teams in an effort to win it again in the coming years. The Lightning sent McDonagh to the Nashville Predators on Sunday for younger defenseman Philippe Myers and forward prospect Grant Mismash, clearing significant salary cap space to make more moves this offseason and setting up Tampa Bay to keep younger core players around for the long term.

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.

The New York Rangers’ third line has been making valuable contributions all season, and the trio’s success in Game 1 against Tampa Bay is a big reason the team finally has a lead during a postseason series.

Andrei Vasilevskiy has won a Vezina Trophy and two Stanley Cups with the 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 eight playoff teams in the Eastern Conference have been set since before the All-Star break.

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.

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.

The NHL is not sending players to the Beijing Olympics after all.

NHL players are going back to the Olympics.

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 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 Tampa Bay Lightning lead the Stanley Cup Final two games to none after beating the Montreal Canadiens 3-1on Wednesday night.

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.

Matt Martin capped New York’s three-goal second period, Ryan Pulock made a diving stop in front of an open goal in the closing seconds and the Islanders held on to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 to even their Stanley Cup semifinal series at two games apiece.

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 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.

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.

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/Michael Ainsworth)The Latest on Week 4 in the NFL (all times EDT)_____8 p.m. Browns halfback Nick Chubb, who is fourth in the league in rushing, sustained a knee injury in Cleveland’s 49-38 win at Dallas. ___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.

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.

FILE - In this Sept. 29, 2016 file photo, Canada's Sidney Crosby hoists the trophy following his team's victory over Europe in the World Cup of Hockey finals, in Toronto. The closest comparison to the NHL's summer restart is the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. You kind of have a short, abbreviated training camp and then youre right into it. It was early September 2016, and the Pittsburgh Penguins captain stepped on the ice in Ottawa for Canadas training camp ahead of the World Cup of Hockey. New York Islanders coach Barry Trotz, who was an assistant when Canada won the World Cup, considers that tournament the closest comparison because he anticipates the same frantic shifts of momentum.