Closeout time has arrived in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the pressure to avoid a Game 7 is squarely on Montreal, Buffalo and Vegas.

Another home loss in the playoffs has the Tampa Bay Lightning on the brink of an early vacation again.

The Colorado Avalanche have a chance to close out the Los Angeles Kings in Game 4 of their NHL playoff series on Sunday night.

The Atlantic Division's hierarchy has shifted this season with the sudden rise of the Buffalo Sabres and continued upward trajectory of the Montreal Canadiens.

Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper is stepping away for two games after his father Robert died.

The return of NHL players to the Olympics after a 12-year absence lived up to the hype.

Canada has not decided whether injured captain Sidney Crosby will play in the gold medal game at the Olympics against the U.S., coach Jon Cooper said.

Nathan MacKinnon scored the go-ahead goal with 35.2 seconds left to help Canada survive another scare at the Olympics, rallying to beat Finland 3-2 in the semifinals and advance to the men’s gold-medal game.

Sidney Crosby has been Canada's captain in international hockey tournaments for more than a decade.

Sidney Crosby has not been ruled out for Canada's semifinal game against Finland at the Olympics on Friday after leaving the quarterfinals with an apparent right-leg injury.

The U.S. and Canada are moving on to the semifinals at the Olympics.

The first U.S. practice in Milan did not explain much of what coach Mike Sullivan has planned for the Olympics.

Erik Spoelstra is now the longest-serving coach among the four major U.S. sports leagues.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Scott Sabourin is set to face the Florida Panthers again, reigniting a heated rivalry.

Spencer Carbery of the Washington Capitals has won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's coach of the year.

The Chicago Blackhawks are giving Jeff Blashill a second chance to prove himself as a head coach in the NHL.

Gregg Popovich stepped down.

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 33 shots and the Tampa Bay Lightning came back to beat the Florida Panthers 5-1 to cut their deficit in the first-round series to 2-1.

Florida captain Aleksander Barkov missed the final 10:09 of the Panthers’ win in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series at Tampa Bay on Thursday night, after taking a hit from the Lightning’s Brandon Hagel.

Home-ice advantage hasn’t really existed over the past couple of years in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Matthew Tkachuk returned to the lineup and was back to his old self quickly for the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.

It’s starting to feel like an annual tradition: Panthers vs.

The 4 Nations Face-Off was a one-off, a tournament with no past and no future, a trimmed-down version of the World Cup of Hockey staged because the NHL’s best players have waited so long for something of its kind.

The 4 Nations Face-Off has already delivered an instant classic international hockey game with the fight-filled preliminary round matchup between the United States and Canada last week in Montreal.

Victor Wembanyama has already gone up against the U.S. in international events, most notably last year’s Paris Olympics when he led France’s march to the gold medal game against the Americans.

Connor McDavid played in the World Cup of Hockey in 2016, but it was with the 23-and-under Team North America, not Canada.

Canada defenseman Shea Theodore is out for the rest of the 4 Nations Face-Off because of injury.

The U.

The biggest controversy so far in the NHL playoffs came in the first round when the Tampa Bay Lightning on the wrong end of a couple of questionable goaltender interference rulings in the game they were eliminated by Florida in the first round.

Steven Stamkos scored his fourth and fifth goals of the series and the Tampa Bay Lightning avoided elimination with a 6-3 victory over the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the first-round playoff matchup Saturday night.

The Toronto Maple Leafs wiped out a three-goal deficit in the third period, then beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-4 on Alexander Kerfoot’s power-play goal at 4:14 of overtime to take a commanding 3-1 series lead in their first-round NHL playoff matchup.

Dallas coach Peter DeBoer hasn’t been shy to point out Minnesota was one of the most penalized teams in the NHL this season,.

Edmonton forward Evander Kane was cut on the left wrist by a skate blade and taken to the hospital with a frightening injury during the Oilers’ 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Orlando’s training camp schedule is no match for Hurricane Ian.

The Detroit Red Wings have hired two-time Stanley Cup-winning assistant Derek Lalonde as coach after a lengthy search process.

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

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.

If this is Ondrej Palat's final playoff run with the Tampa Bay Lightning, he's certainly making it count.

The Colorado Avalanche face their biggest task yet in the Stanley Cup Final looking to close out the back-to-back defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 on the road.

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.

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.

It’s no secret Tampa Bay has played more hockey over the past two years than any other team in the NHL.

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 Tampa Bay Lightning say they are unfazed after losing Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Colorado Avalanche.

The Colorado Avalanche are expected to stick with goaltender Darcy Kuemper in goal for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.

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.

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.

The Tampa Bay Lightning know what type of effort it will take to finish off the New York Rangers.

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.

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.

More than a week off between playoff games can seem like an eternity for any team.

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

Joe Thornton’s career may be over.

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.

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.

Hundreds of families throughout the community now have one more reason to give thanks.

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.

The Tampa Bay Lightning insist they are not thinking about winning the Stanley Cup back home in Game 5 despite families not being allowed in Montreal for a potential second consecutive celebration in isolation in Canada.

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.

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.

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.

Semyon Varlamov made 30 saves and the New York Islanders got goals from Mathew Barzal and Ryan Pulock to beat the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Sunday in Game 1 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.

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.

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